Home Grown Vegetables

My closest friend has always had a green thumb and though we share just about all common interests until recently we differed on home gardening. I had never really given any type of gardening any thought and had always viewed her passion for this as a waste of time. Things changed recently however when I found out that I could save quite a bit of money by growing my own vegetables.

Being a vegetarian my diet consists mostly of earth grown foods and with the price of veggies rising and becoming over inflated my girlfriend approached me and told me that she was going to begin growing her own vegetables both to save a few dollars and to get a better quality product. I was interested though my motivation was solely saving money. I found myself dreading working in her indoor garden but I was surprised at how much fun I was having.

Perhaps it was because I was spending more time with her and perhaps it was because I was learning something new but I began looking forward to the three days a week that I was spending in the greenhouse. As I began to get a hold on gardening and working with different types of soils and plants, I was surprised to find there was so much more to it than simply throwing seeds into the ground and watering things.

Several of her grow lights went out within my first couple of visits. I didn’t think these lights were important but my assumption was quickly refuted by my girlfriend when she explained that these types of lights are designed specifically to help plants grow. I actually spent one day of my first week hunting down specific types of commercial lighting for the greenhouse. The lights she wanted were fairly expensive but we went halves on the cost as I felt as though we were becoming partners in gardening.

Once the new lights were installed we got back to the ground work. Three weeks later I was pleased to see the bell peppers I planted on my own begin to sprout. It was at that point that I admitted to both myself and my girlfriend that I was enjoying doing garden work. Not long after that the rest of our first batch of vegetables sprouted and some even ripened and were ready to be eaten.

I’ll say this about growing your own food. It’s hard work and it takes time to grow these things however the flavor and even the size of the vegetables far outclass anything you find in the store. In addition to this, home grown vegetables contain no unnatural preservatives and go into your kitchen fresh; no weeks of shipping are involved. This experience leads me to believe that I will never buy vegetables from any store again.

For those of you who have never eaten anything homegrown, you need to at least once. Once you decide to go this route you’re in for a treat and I can guarantee that you too will begin growing your own vegetables. Before I became a vegetarian I had eaten a steak that came from a cow raised by my friend. This was much like vegetables in that the homegrown food was far better than any store bought product. Though it takes care and effort to grow your own food, the work is worth it. Your body and your bank account will thank you for it!