Fresh From The Garden

One of the things I appreciate in the summer is all the produce we get fresh from the garden. We have planted a garden of some sort for years. Some years we have had a tiny garden. Other years we have had a larger garden space. 

Gardening Anywhere

One year we shared a plot of land on an easement between our neighbor’s property and our property. Another year we shared a garden with my husband’s parents. Some people use container gardens. If there is a will to have a garden it is possible no matter the room available. 

Last year we had small plots of vegetables growing everywhere around our property. We had vegetables growing around the chicken coop, in our flower bed, and many other small plots around the property. If there was a patch of bare dirt, we planted something in it. 

Last spring, we were in the middle of a septic project and did not want to plan a large garden area until we knew where the septic would be located. This year the septic is in place and we actually have a large garden plot ready for planting when the time comes. 

Right now in the Midwest it is still cold. My husband does a combination of direct sowing and planting seedlings. The seedlings for some flowers and vegetables have been growing for a few weeks in one of our outbuildings. Not everything is in the ground yet. 

Cooking From The Garden

Tonight, I was able to use some of the early vegetables from our garden. I used asparagus and green onions from the garden along with our farm fresh eggs. It felt so good to eat the food we produced here on our land. To eat the eggs collected earlier that day from the chickens that roam our property. 

It just tastes better when you have had a hand in growing it. That farm to table concept is one of the things that drew our family to this lifestyle. Growing some of our own food is important to us. Knowing our food has not been treated with harmful chemicals is important to us.  

As the weather becomes warmer here in Indiana the rest of our garden crops will be planted. In a few months the heavy garden harvest will be here. We will be up to our eyeballs in tomatoes, carrots, onion, lettuce, squash, peppers, and corn just to name a few. 

I will be freezing and canning as much of this bounty as I possibly can. I talked a little about the benefits of preserving food in this post. http://www.savingmoneylivingfaithfully.com/benefits-preserving-food/ We will give away various vegetables and herbs to family and friends as we have in the past. We will still be left with a great deal of produce to can or freeze for fall and winter use. 

Plan Meals

I always have fun coming up with dinner ideas that can incorporate the vegetables I have preserved. This saves money and I know the quality is better because we have used safe growing practices in our garden. 

If preserving your food feels too complicated, then don’t do it. Produce enough to eat for your family during the growing season. You will feel a sense of accomplishment when those seeds or seedling grow and produce edible food. 

Gardening is something you can do with the entire family. Kids can help with the planting, weeding and harvesting. It’s good for children to see where their food comes from. Kids love playing in the dirt and eating what they helped grow. Growing their own food might even encourage them to try new foods. 

Start Small

If you have an interest in growing some of your own food, I want to encourage you to do that. Start small. If you live in the city you may only have a small area to work with. That’s fine. If you live in an apartment you can do a container garden. 

There are not too many things in life better than food fresh from the garden. Knowing that you planted the seed, provided water, and watched it grow into food for your family changes everything.