5 Reasons You Should Plant a Vegetable Garden This Year

Our first spring as a married couple brought a lot of new firsts – a new house, a new fur baby {a dog}, and my first vegetable garden.  Growing up, my mom always had an extensive vegetable garden in our backyard, and as an adult, I was so excited to start my own.  That year, my parents helped me set up the garden as a birthday present – they came over with railroad ties, a tiller, and a ton of dirt…and we set to work creating my first garden.

I spent hours out there watering, picking fruits and vegetables, and just tending to the plants.  I even got stuck out there when I made the mistake of sitting down in the garden at six months pregnant!  We’ve since moved to a new house, and my garden is now set up in two long planters bordering our back patio, with pots lining one side to house the “overflow” plants.  And the baby that was en utero when I got stuck in the garden?  She is now {almost} three years old and loves helping out.

We’ve gained so many fun memories {and food!} through our garden, so I’d like to share a few reasons why YOU should start a vegetable garden this spring too!

Vegetable Garden

  1. It’s budget friendly.  Sure, depending on how you set up your garden, you may have some initial costs out of pocket, but you’ll quickly find you’re saving money.  My tomato plants this year were $4.99 each – that’s as much as I could spend on tomatoes at the grocery store in one week!
  2. It’s a family affair.  Every year the women in my family {and the toddler} make a trip to Buchanan’s in the Heights to pick out our plants for our gardens.  This year I also picked up strawberry plants from Froberg’s!  We have a blast picking out plants and mapping out our gardens.  Oh, and bonus – my mom, the master gardener, is on hand to answer any questions I might have!  Of course, Buchanan’s has a slew of pros available for questions…in case, you know, my mom doesn’t come with you.
  3. It’s convenient.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve been cooking dinner and realized I’m missing something in my pantry.  Well, I have all of the herbs covered in my garden – rosemary, oregano, basil, and even lavender!  Add in the fruit and veggies, and it really cuts down on the last minute trips to the grocery store.
  4. It’s healthy.  I know this sounds super obvious, but the garden makes healthy foods far more exciting for my daughter.  I normally have to bring out some major persuasion techniques to sneak in her veggies, but when it comes from the garden, she doesn’t complain.  In fact, I frequently catch her sneaking bites of broccoli straight off the stalk!
  5. It tastes so much better than store bought.  Maybe it’s the hard work I put into planting and tending the plants, but the taste of a tomato straight off the vine is so much better than from the produce section.  In my opinion, you can really tell a difference, and it’s so much better!

Do you have a vegetable garden?  What’s your favorite part?

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