Small Landscape Additions Yield Big Benefits
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Where do you go to get fresh produce? If it is the nearest grocery store, the odds are likely that the produce you purchase there come from farms located hundreds -- sometimes thousands -- of miles away.
The wisdom of consuming locally grown fruits, vegetables and herbs becomes obvious when considering the cost and environmental impact of cross-country food transportation.
Economic downturns make growing your own produce an enticing and viable option. You can buy a pepper for $2.50 at the grocery store. Or you can pay the same price for a pepper plant at a local nursery, take it home, plant it and in six to eight weeks have a host of peppers for your table. Growing your own tomatoes will set you back around 25 cents a pound. Compare that to $1.25 (or more!) per pound at the grocery store.
When it comes to taste, there simply is no comparison. Few would dispute that the tastiest, healthiest foods come from a home garden.
In ancient times growing food-bearing plants was a matter of survival. Today, residential landscapes tend to be exclusively ornamental. Edible plants can be as attractive as ornamentals, and they help cut grocery costs.
You don't have to have a big, formal garden to grow your own goodies. All you need is a sunny space.
Try adding a few pepper plants to a flower garden or tucking some tomatoes into a shrub hedge. A few plants can yield an amazing amount of produce.
Containers are a great place to grow salad greens. Edible flowers with herbs will thrive in patio pots. Pansies, nasturtiums, thyme, and oregano are among the easiest to grow.
Homegrown edibles give gardeners control over the substances that come into contact with the fruits and veggies they eat. New Jobe's® Organic Fertilizer Spikes for Vegetables are an ideal way to ease into organic gardening. Bone meal, feather meal and potash ensure vigorous growth and high-yield harvests. Look for Jobe's Organic Fertilizer Spikes at local lawn and garden centers or visit www.easygardener.com to find a retailer in your area.
Fruit-bearing shrubs are a year-round asset to any landscape. Many varieties have beautiful spring blossoms and foliage that stands out in the fall. Birds can wreak havoc on a berry harvest. Cover bushes and small trees with ROSS® nettings to keep pests at bay.
As you make changes to your yard, incorporate edible plants. Then the next time you need fresh produce you can skip the trip to the grocery store and save time, gas and money with a short stroll to your yard instead.