How To Grow Your Own Veg

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A lot of people will shy away from growing their own vegetables, but there are many benefits to doing it, that mean you can eat healthier, stay fitter and help the environment.

Vegetables are so much fresher when they’re home-grown. A lot of the veg we buy has been grown in another country and shipped across several thousand miles to get to us. But imagine how fresh your veg is when you pull it out of the ground yourself.

You can save lots of money. Everyone likes to make savings where they can. Buying one pack of seeds can cost the same as buying 6 vegetables from a shop, but the seeds could produce 50 vegetables. Which one makes the most sense?

You’ll feel a huge amount of satisfaction. Growing your own veg can be a slow process, but you’ll appreciate the food you eat so much more.

You can spend more time with the family. You can get the children or grandchildren involved and they can help grow crops in your new greenhouse. You can also teach them all about healthy eating. They can also help you sow the seeds, or dig up the final product.

Gardening is great exercise. Nowadays, it can be difficult to fit in our 30 minutes of activity per day. But gardening is a lovely way of doing some light exercise whilst being outdoors in the fresh air.

The vegetables you grow will be less harmful. There are so many pesticides and herbicides in the veg we buy from the shop, which can be harmful to ourselves as well as the environment. Pesticides can pollute our air and water, and some can cause cancer. You can also reduce the use of fossil fuels that come from transporting the supermarket veg by plane and lorry.

Home-grown vegetables taste better. Does this point need further explanation? Better tasting vegetables will also appeal more to the kids!

Make your own compost. Farming the same spot over and over will wear out the soil’s nutrients over time and your veg will suffer for it. Larger farms solve this problem by using plant nutrition formulas but for us small-time farmers we can make our own nutrition using home-made compost. Using the leftover peels or veg waste, you can make a compost heap which can be used to fertilise the next batch of vegetables. This will save you the cost of buying brand new soil from a garden centre as well as making the veg you grow more nutritious and richer in vitamins.

You know where your food has come from and how it’s been handled. How many people do you think have touched your fruit before it gets from Spain to the supermarket to your house. Five? Ten? 20? You won’t have to worry about contamination that can come in the growing or the transportation.

You’ll eat ‘wonky’ veg. How many times have you thrown something out that you bought at a supermarket because it didn’t ‘look’ right? Veg that you’ve grown yourself has taken time and effort, so you’ll be more likely to eat it. Or you can always turn it into soup.

Worktop-Express.co.uk have created a wonderful eBook which will be available to download very soon. It’ s packed with great recipes that can be made from ingredients grown in your own garden. My recipe for Mediterranean Vegetable Casserole has been included, so have a go at making it yourself!

So those are my top reasons you need to start growing your own veg. Are you tempted? Or perhaps you already grow your own? Let me know in the comments!