Grow Green Gardens!

All gardeners love to brag about their gardens (that is, unless they're having a bad growing year), and my wife and I are no exceptions!  This year we planted baby bok choy, carrots, swiss chard, mustard, spinach, various lettuces, brussel sprouts, tomatoes, green beans, fennel, basil, dill, parsley, sweet peppers, hot peppers, cucumbers, raspberries, and squash.  We were pleased to get some "volunteer" veggies this year---that is, vegetables from the previous year that grew without intentional planting (they either reseeded themselves or were in our compost)!  Our "volunteers" are some more swiss chard, more parsley, more carrots, grape tomatoes, and green onions!  This year we dug out a good chunk of our front lawn right in front of our house and planted a garden there.  The foliage of the plants is aesthetically-pleasing, the vegetables are omnipresent, so you don't forget about them, and that's all the less grass to cut---yay!

Growing your own vegetables is not only emotionally satisfying, being able to see the "fruits" of your labors, but also economically beneficial.  We have saved probably hundreds of dollars in the amount of vegetables we have already and have yet to consume from our garden this summer.  Homegrown veggies are also essentially organic (granted, without the official accreditation), so no need to worry about pesticides.  Also consider the fact that you yourself are the picker of these veggies and the only transportation required to get the veggies into your house is are your legs.  No wasted fuel there!  There are also numerous health benefits to eating vegetables, from the fiber that helps clean out your pipes to the vitamins your body extracts from these yummy treats!  Also consider the fact that having a robust garden actually forces you to consume more vegetables, being that you want to eat them up before they go bad.  Having a surplus of vegetables gives you the option to can, make preserves, freeze for use in wintertime, create sauces, or even to "pay it forward", and give veggies away to friends and family!  Right now we're in high gear when it comes to giving away squash!  It's amazing how many squash one plant can put out!  Speaking of squash, take a look at this interesting specimen that grew in our garden---talk about "GREEN-SEXY"!!!!!!!!!!!!