Who Else Wants to Grow Their Own Veggies?

Have you noticed how expensive it has become to buy fruit and vegetables? Especially organic ones?

Saving money is certainly a compelling reason to grow your own fruit and veggies, but it is by no means the only one. There are so many benefits to producing food yourself.

Home grown vegetables are packed with flavor and depending on the soils they are grown in, have a far higher nutritional value than those grown in nutrient deficient soil or that have been in cold storage for extended periods.

Growing vegetables is an activity that is particularly beneficial for the family. You get to spend time together, outside in the fresh air and sunshine and children can learn how to make a useful contribution to the family as well as how fresh food is grown.

There is nothing quite like the sense of accomplishment derived from picking fresh veggies from your own garden for a family meal. And it is an excellent way to encourage young children to eat more veggies.

Limited space need not be a deterrent from growing your own food. Now you can buy neat, compact garden tanks which easily fit into small yards and courtyards.

This is the time of year to get busy sowing your vegetable garden. Vegetables that do well at this time of year include tomatoes, lettuce, peas, carrots, asparagus, strawberries, new potatoes, eggplant, capsicum and zucchini. These are all extremely simple to grow.

You will want to make sure you choose a sunny space in your garden or courtyard.

• Start by digging over the soil and adding 2kgs of compost per square metre and mixing it well.
• For a continuous supply of vegetables, make small, successive sowings. Use seeds or advanced seedlings rather than buy entire punnets that may have more plants than you need.
• See more at: http://www.readersdigest.com.au/creating-a-vegetable-patch#sthash.QTSjmjcO.dpuf
• For a continuous supply of vegetables, make small, successive sowings. Use seeds or advanced seedlings rather than buy entire punnets that may have more plants than you need.
• See more at: http://www.readersdigest.com.au/creating-a-vegetable-patch#sthash.QTSjmjcO.dpuf
• For a continuous supply of vegetables, make small, successive sowings. Use seeds or advanced seedlings rather than buy entire punnets that may have more plants than you need.
• See more at: http://www.readersdigest.com.au/creating-a-vegetable-patch#sthash.QTSjmjcO.dpuf
• For a continuous supply of vegetables, make small, successive sowings. Use seeds or advanced seedlings rather than buy entire punnets that may have more plants than you need.
• - See more at: http://www.readersdigest.com.au/creating-a-vegetable-patch#sthash.QTSjmjcO.dpufFor a continuous supply of vegetables, make small, successive plantings. Use seeds or advanced seedlings rather than buy entire punnets that may have more plants than you need.
• Use a mulch between the rows and between individual plants to suppress weed growth. If any weeds do appear, pull them up straight away.
• Water your vegetable garden in the early morning or evening, never in the heat of the day as the moisture will be lost through evaporation.
• Plant flowering ornamental plants such as lavender among vegetables to attract pollinating insects. Planting sweet peas next to runner beans will encourage early pollination of beans.

So there you have it. Too many reasons NOT to give growing your own veggies a try. You will save money at the supermarket, and the kids will love to eat veggies they helped to grow, that are absolutely bursting with flavor and goodness.

If you are unsure about what products would suit your circumstances best, ask our staff to point you in the right direction. Plant now and you can be enjoying home grown fruit and veggies in no time.