You may have noticed that healthy eating choices often come with a hefty grocery bill. This is because fresh produce has a short shelf life, is transported much quicker, and is subject to seasonal availability. But that doesn’t make it any less frustrating to budget for when attempting to make good choices for you and your family.
There is a way you can provide fresh fruits, herbs, and veggies for minimal cost, however. It all depends on if you are willing to provide a little bit of time and effort, but cuts down on both cost and produce waste if you are willing to do so. Growing your own gardens is much simpler than you may think, and can be done year round if you choose.
Growing Gardens
You don’t need any gardening experience to learn how to grow your own fresh fruits, herbs, and vegetables. Even if you feel you are the worst possible person for the task, I assure you that you are completely capable, as is the rest of your family. Growing a garden is a great learning experience for children as well, and the care of your plants can be completely turned over to them after you get started. Plus, it is a great way to introduce a healthier lifestyle.
All you need to grow your garden is some basic vegetational choices to get started with. Don’t get crazy; simply choose a few of your favorite produce producing plants to begin with as all they need is a little bit of room to grow, light, and water. Basic vegetables, herbs, and miniature fruits grow excellently in pots as well, allowing you to easily grow them indoors for year-round freshness! All you need is a good grow light to provide what they need to stay healthy through their production cycle.
Why You Want a Grow Light
A good grow light provides the light spectrum utilized by vegetation for the support of photosynthesis. This process helps the plant create its own food through its various stages of growth, and supports healthy vegetation, flowering, and production. Gardeners put to use grow lights through various stages of plant growth to help support early seedling strength, healthy transplant, mature growth, and an increase in produce yields.
An excellent grow light to consider is the Yield Lab Light. A full review of this product can be viewed here at Yield Lab Grow Light Review. This is a good choice for full spectrum light to use at any stage of plant growth. This light and those similar to it are great all around choices for both hobbyists and more serious gardeners.
Grow lights are very specific to indoor use, allowing you to start your seedlings early so they are healthy and on their way to maturity prior to transplant outdoors. This also allows you to extend your growing season, so you can get even more from your plants before the first frost. As mentioned, you can also use a grow light to support your garden indoors! All you need is a little space and you can be eating fresh even in the dead of winter! Both starting your own seeds, and growing indoors are ways to help cut costs even further. Seed packets are typically only a few dollars and hold enough seeds for multiple seasons of growth. And there is no need to explain how plants that provide through the dormant seasons can help save!
Popular Produce Plants for Beginners
As excited as you may be to get started, one of the most common reasons gardens fail is because they are too large to keep up with. This is especially true for new gardeners, so you want to start simply and with plants that are both familiar to you, and easy to care for. Some of the most popular plants are those that can be grown easily in smaller spaces. These also are excellent choices for city living as they can grow easily in raised beds or pots on patios and balconies. As long as you provide light and water they will grow.
These include tomatoes, peas, beans, leafy greens, peppers, and various non-vining squash. If you have the added room you can always grow grapes, melons, and pumpkins as well. Also, don’t rule out miniature fruit trees. Many fruits are easy to grow in pots and can be trained along a trellis in narrow garden beds.
Conclusion
This is such a simple way to add in fresh fruits and veggies regularly, you probably are wondering why you haven’t considered it yet. Just think about how much you can save on the various herbs and vegetables that you may already regularly use in your cooking. You also will cut down on waste as there is no longer any need to buy more than what you want- and any waste you have at home can be easily composted to feed your plants with.