Free Food! 7 Good Reasons to Plant a Vegetable Garden

You may wonder why anyone would want to bother with planting a vegetable garden. It costs money to buy seeds, starter plants, soil, and garden implements. It's hard work, requiring digging and weeding - oftentimes in hot, scorching sunshine; not to mention the fact that grocery stores carry just about any vegetable imaginable.

For many, the answer is clear. Vegetables grown in your own garden simply taste better. They are more flavorful than the store bought kind. Tomatoes are robust and juicy and carrots taste sweet.

Besides that, you are in charge of what your family eats (whether you choose to grow organic, or not). There's a comfort in knowing where your food comes from and how it was grown.

In addition, vegetable gardening brings a certain gratification in knowing that you are a bit more self-sufficient. With that said, here are some other reasons why gardening is a rewarding experience for many people.

• It affords you a personal relationship with your food and the earth. Most people in our society aren't connected to their food. Someone else watches the plant sprout, grow tall, blossom, and yield fruit. Your only involvement with the natural process of growth is that of the consumer- you purchase the food and eat it. You never witness the life of what you consume and therefore, you don't connect to the earth in the same way as one who plants and grows their own sustenance. 

• It gives you control over what goes into your body and the bodies of your family members. You know what goes into your food. Use heirloom seeds that are not genetically modified and know that your produce will be safe and healthful. No one's glazed your apple with wax. Your canned pumpkin doesn't contain sugar or artificial sweeteners.

• It's good for your health. Tending a garden is a lot of hard work and exercise. You'll keep busy and build strong muscles while you're at it. 

• It makes your taste buds happy. Whether it's your imagination or not, food from the garden simply tastes better than food from the store. 

• It's good for the economy. You'll no longer dole out as much money to huge food conglomerations like Con-Agra and Kraft and will be more likely to support your local economy by patronizing small garden stores and shopping at farmer's markets.

• For the small initial investment you make to get started with a humble garden, you will have free food for the entire growing season, if not longer. 

• Last but not least, gardening is fun! Engage the entire family for a satisfying gardening experience and reap the rewards at harvest time of having planted a seed and watching it grow. 

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Learn how to blanch and freeze vegetables  here. 

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Product Recommendation: Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening has been the go-to resource for gardeners for more than 50 years—and the best tool novices can buy to start applying organic methods to their fruit and vegetable crops.