There are few things in this world that can match the ROI of growing vegetables from seeds. Of course you’ll need to invest in a few other things before you can utilize the benefits but don’t let that stop you. Just start small and let it evolve from there.
If you’re just getting into gardening the worst thing you can do is go all out when you have no idea what you’re getting into. Besides a little success goes a long way. Start small and go with something easy and simple.
It Can Be A Source Of Real Quality Family Time
If you have children get them involved at an early age, Kids are naturally curious. They will eagerly help you fill pots, plant seeds and water them in. This can turn out to be real quality family time.
Choosing Plants Wisely Makes For Early Success
When you are new to gardening it makes sense to select plants that are easy to grow and don’t require full maturity before you can start enjoying them. Lettuce and spinach fit that bill nicely.
Crops that don’t take up a lot of space are also good choices. Carrots, radishes and snow peas would be what I go with. Other possibilities are chives or scallions
Did you know that you can re-grow celery from the super market using just the cut off end.
In the mild winters of Florida I have celery growing and still producing that’s over three years old. It just keeps growing. One time I cut it completely off at the base and to my surprise it still grew out fully again.
Expect Better Tasting Veggies
Have you noticed the tasteless vegetables commercial farms are producing these days. Why is that? One reason is it often has to travel a great distance before we see it. So farmers are growing varieties with characteristics that ship well but don’t necessarily taste good.
As consumers it’s partly our fault. We want picture perfect produce. We falsely believe if it looks good it taste good but as you well know looks are deceiving. We buy with our eyes because we don’t get to choose by tasting. It’s a good thing they don’t have those sampler ladies in the produce department because they’d never sell anything.
The quality is down and the price is up but you don’t have to accept it. Welcome to another one of the rewards for the back porch garden.
Once you taste a fresh home grown veggie you’ll never want to settle for store bought again.
After Mastering The Basics What’s Next?
After a few successes you’ll have the confidence to grow larger, more involved crops. Let me suggest cherry tomatoes and sweet banana peppers. Funny thing, just writing about this makes my mouth start watering.
Why cherry tomatoes and sweet banana peppers? Both of these crops are fairly easy to grow and will continue to produce all season.
Imagine walking out on the back porch or patio and coming back with all the fresh ingredients for a super tasty, big salad. Does It get any better than that? I don’t think so.
What If You Grow More Than You Can Use
Yes this does happen. It’s so easy to under estimate the amount your plants will produce and it often leads to over planting. There is a solution though. You can preserve most crops by freezing. Freezing is the easiest, most convenient and least time-consuming method of preserving most veggies.
Check out the Quick Start Guide To Blanching & Freezing Garden Vegetables
