9 Reasons Why You Should (and Can) Start A Vegetable Garden!
Before you say why you cannot start your own fruit/vegetable garden, I am going to try to change your mind and prove why you can do it, for at least part of the year, where ever you are!
Here are my 9 reasons to try and inspire you:
1. There is a type of garden available for any climate, any space, and any gardening ability. Trust me.
No space? How about Container Gardening for even the smallest of patios/porches? Here are some beautiful Cedar Raised Beds-you can pick your size and layout to fit your space.
No Yard? Not even a patio? How about some Vertical Gardening?
Outdoors not an option? How about some Indoor Gardening?
2. You basically have a virtual vitamin store in your back yard…or patio…or window ledge.
Did you know that the average produce in the grocery store is already 3 to 4 weeks old and (unless from local sources) has traveled as far as 1500 miles to get to your plate? Many nutrients have a chance to get lost along that journey.
There is little opportunity to lose too many nutrients when your food only has to travel from plant to hand to mouth.
3. Building on reason #2, there is truly nothing sweeter than plucking something from your garden and placing it straight into your mouth.
And the total bonus is that you will be able to expand your family’s palettes and expose them to vegetables and nutrients that you may never have otherwise.
4. You can do something wonderful with some of your food waste and yard clippings, by taking advantage of the benefits of composting.
5. It can actually save you money (eventually)…
6. Gardening can be a wonderful meditative and calming experience to go out and spend time digging in the soil with the sun at your back.
And it is an amazing way for you to teach your children to connect with nature and learn where their food comes from.
7. You will learn how to love certain critters and bugs in your garden (oh yes, and how to strongly dislike others as well).
You will learn why ladybugs are great, why we should embrace bees in our gardens, and how to get rid of those pesky caterpillars who can do a lot of damage in very little time.
This guy, and a few of his buddies, managed to do quite a bit of damage to some of my plants:
8. If your food grows from the ground – especially in your own garden – there is no ingredient list to read, no possibilities of cross-contamination (unless you are also growing gluten-containing grains), and no hidden preservatives. There is no packaging to throw away. No destruction of nutrients from processing.
But…are you ready for the most important reason of all?
9. Because if I can do it…ANYONE CAN. Believe me on this one. I promise you will amaze yourself. No matter where you live. No matter what your conditions are. No matter how much space you have (my garden is actually only 2 ft deep running along a side wall of my yard).
If you did not know this already, I had previously been known to have the blackest thumb around. So this is why #9 is so critical for you to understand… 
A few final tips to walk away with today:
Companion Gardening can be your best strategy for a successful garden. Learn what to plant next to each other for the best growing results.
Some bugs are your friends. So don’t be a bug hater.
Amending your soil can make all of the difference.
And one last critical thing to pay attention to:
Know where your seeds/plants are coming from. Try to buy from reputable organic sources when possible so that you are not planting genetically modified foods. The last thing we want to do is support Monsanto.
Okay. Please tell me that at least ONE of these reasons inspired you to give vegetable gardening a try!
Kim Maes is the creator of the Cook It Allergy Free iPhone and iPad Apps, which customize recipes to meet multiple food allergy needs. She also writes the recipe blog Cook It Allergy Free, where she shares her passion for teaching others how easy and delicious it can be to eat whole, pure allergy-friendly meals that the entire family will enjoy. Kim went back to receive a Master’s Degree in Holistic Nutrition after her son and her husband were diagnosed with Celiac Disease and other food sensitivities.
I am so excited about my two raised garden beds this year. I really hope I can get some good stuff from it. I want to be that lady that sits in her garden, takes care of it and then gets tons of great stuff from it.
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Kim Maes Reply:
March 15th, 2012 at 11:51 am
Sarena, I cannot wait to hear how your beds do this year. You will totally have to report back on what you end up growing. And I bet you will totally be “that lady”! LOL
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Kim,
What a beautiful post. I’m such a plant-based nutrition person and looking at these photos reminds me why I prefer plants over animal products or processed food. Just look at that chard. It’s full of life and good energy.
I’m not planning a garden this year as I’m fully involved with Grant Family Farms, but I might do a couple of planters. You’ve inspired me with your beautiful photos! BTW, I love that font you’re using. =)
Melissa
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Kim Maes Reply:
March 15th, 2012 at 11:53 am
Melissa, I cannot even imagine with everything else that you have going on that you would even have any time to garden right now anyway!! I love that you are so involved with Grant Family Farms!! You are doing so many wonderful things right now!
And, I have to agree with your Chard comment. For some reason, when I go out to my garden, the pretty colors of the Chard excite me more than anything.
xo
k
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Kim,
First, I love the pictures!
Second, thank you for the link for indoor gardening. Because, even though I have enough outdoor space to garden (and a strong desire), living in the city means that gardening will attract a much-grosser pest than caterpillars to my yard! Indoor gardening is just the ticket!
Kim
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Kim Maes Reply:
March 15th, 2012 at 11:55 am
HI Kim! I can imagine how being in the city will attract more of some of those buggers. Indoor gardening is really fun too! I do a bit of that when it gets too hot here in the summer to grow anything outdoors (100+ degree temps are not very helpful to gardening).
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Loved …loved …loved…these photo’s …so insprational! Thanks so much for the encouragement and for sharing this inforomation. I have my seed packets in hand and I will do my very best:)
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Kim Maes Reply:
March 15th, 2012 at 11:56 am
Kathy, you are too sweet. Thank you so much! I cannot wait to hear how your garden does! I so hope that you report back and let us know…
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So glad you posted these great pictures! I have never been able to grow anything and you give me hope! I don’t have a very big sunny area so now I know about containers! I have celiac disease and this gives me hope! Thank you!!!
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Kim Maes Reply:
March 15th, 2012 at 11:58 am
Susan, I truly mean it when I say that if I can grow something in my garden, then anyone can. I have always killed everything I grew. So I know you will have wonderful success! And what a great thing you are doing to heal your body now as well.
Good luck!
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Your garden looks so gorgeous in all of these photos! Great post! I’m going to have to go back and check out all of your hyperlinks – chances are, I’ll have a LOT of very useful information to make my garden more successful. I’m in my 3rd year and have expanded the garden to 3 4X4 raised beds. I already have lettuces, and the beets are sprouting, and I need to go thin out my radishes. Wee!
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Kim Maes Reply:
March 15th, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Alta, I bet your garden is awesome. Are you able to keep things going through the summer there as well? I never really thinned out my beets because I was so excited to see them growing, but some of them have ended up on the small size because of it. I did, however, remember to thin my radishes. LOL You will have to send me pics one of these days of your beds!
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Thank you so much for this timely post and the helpful and informative links! I’ve got some Swiss Chard slowly growing in a planter in my tiny front yard and am anxious waiting for my Father to get his raised beds ready for me to plant summer vegetables. Hooray for home grown fresh tomatoes (basil and mozzarella!) and summertime.
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Kim Maes Reply:
March 15th, 2012 at 3:47 pm
Allison, I think the Swiss Chard is my favorite thing that I grow. I use that more than anything else in the garden these days! And how fun that your Father is getting the beds ready for you. Have fun!!
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Your garden is so beautiful, Kim! You’re such an inspiration to us all.
What about the girl who lives in the woods and can’t even grow grass? What can she do? Hmmm, so far I go to the farmers market. but when we expand our front deck area, maybe I can have a container of one or two things. 
xo,
Shirley
p.s. Love the honeybee!!!
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Kim Maes Reply:
March 15th, 2012 at 3:58 pm
Shirley, I almost wrote on the picture, “Look Shirley, one of your friend’s came to visit!” LOL But there was not enough room! How exciting that you will be expanding your front deck! I foresee some container gardening in your future!
And Farmer’s Markets are pretty much like growing your own stuff anyway! I hit ours up all of the time to get the stuff that I don’t have the guts to grow! 
xo
k
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I am so jealous of your beautiful garden, Kim! We’ll get there (especially if these 70 degree days keep up!), but fresh garden veggies are still a ways off yet. A girl can dream…
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Kim Maes Reply:
March 15th, 2012 at 3:58 pm
Hallie, I bet you will get them growing sooner than you think, my friend!!
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Great post!
We grow an organic garden and love it. It’s such a wonderful way to connect my children to the earth. We live in a great climate her in Northern California, great gardening weather all year long.
Be Well,
–Amber
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Kim Maes Reply:
March 15th, 2012 at 4:00 pm
Thanks so much, Amber!! I so agree with you on how it connects our children to the earth. I am constantly amazed at how they will eat anything we are growing and how they are fascinated with the entire process of it all. I was born and raised in Northern California and I loved how the climate allowed us to grow things all year long! What are you growing right now? And what part of Nor Cal do you live in?
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OMG, I can grow my own broccoli!!?? Sold! Does it grow very well in a desert climate? Our new digs won’t have as long of a growing season as you have in AZ, but otherwise, the climate, soil, etc. will be similar.
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Kim,
Thanks for the wake up. My first 17 years of life I spent with my farmer grandpa from Italy. I never had a processed food until moving to NYC. After 23 more years traveling all over hell for work I now have a little land and live IN a wetlands preserve. Time to garden. What about deer, coyote, fox, wild turkeys etc? Seems like trouble.
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Gardening has become a real joy for me. It took some time to get my green thumb, but it’s developing. I have a very small yard, a lot of sun, and not the most plant-friendly soil for my gardens. But I utilize whatever space I can. I have herbs and vegetables growing now, and I planted some goji berries, maca, astralagus, and calendula. I do companion gardening (tomatoes love basil) and use organic seeds and soil. I also have raised beds and pollinator-friendly plants.
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I need you to come visit me for garden consulting. We tried raised beds a couple years ago and it was a huge fail
I’m convinced our yard just doesn’t get enough sun.
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I love your post! I have my spring planting seeds already started and will need to get them in the ground in the next week or so. This year I am trying so many things that I have never planted before, with the goal of providing produce for my family that I can either can or freeze to sustain us thoroughout the year. I love gardening, am just getting ready to take it beyond just a hobby to something more.
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Your pictures are wonderful, and your reasons are terrific! Every one of them is a motivator. All of what you say is true.
I think I have a couple of spots big enough for containers on my deck that might get enough sun for a shade-loving begonia or impatiens, but for vegetables…? The only place that might get enough sun for some those is out by the street. Not too clean there. Pretty discouraging for veggie-lovers. Farmers market, here I come
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What a great post. I was lucky to grow up with Grandparents and parents that all loved to grow fresh and it has passed to some many generations of my family. There is just nothing like fresh, just outside your door veggies. With multiple food allergies, I have also found the love of a fresh herb garden. There even easier to grow then veggies…and adds such great fresh flavor to anything I make.
I really appreciate the section on amending the soil to… I think that will help me greatly get better results.
Thanks so much and keep up the great posts!
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I love the pics from your garden. How fun it would be to play in it.
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Hey Kim! I would love to try indoor gardening but your site link didn’t say much about it? I am going to be living in a college apt with no porch or patio or yard so obviously indoor is the only option…hopefully by windows! What can you grow inside and how much?
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I so want to plant a garden this yr. I have the organic seeds (should have been starting them, but had a long household bout with colds & flu). I have fabric container pots. BUT last 4 yrs my plants have gotten powdery white mildew and haven’t put much out before dying b4 end of harvest. We have put so much time, sweat and $$ into trying to change that, different area of the yard, spraying with a natural solution, nothing has gotten rid if this and it is sooo discouraging. don’t know what to do.
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Well you succeeded in inspiring me! I was sitting on the fence about gardening since I’m renting and have 2 slightly destructive dogs. But I took the plunge a few weeks ago and got a City Pickers container, potting mix, seeds and fertilizer. And now there are green things popping up LOL. I’m even researching how to plant a blueberry bush in my patio container garden – YAY!!
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I agree!
What a fantastic post Kim.
I MUST get on this. You have inspired me.
Missed you so much at Nourished and GFAF Expo.
Catch you on the next one!
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