As Spring is here, planting a garden is a great way to help feed your family and save some money at the same time.  Yes, it takes time and energy, but it can be well worth the effort and time invested.  It is also a great family activity.  I’m not into the constant weeding; however, the secret to getting me out weeding is to get me talking!  I’ve had some of my best conversations with my mom while bent over tomato bushes.

Choose Your Seeds

Take some time to look at the vegetable seed packets you can get.  We like to order heirloom seeds that are non-gmo in order to make sure that we are getting the healthiest choice for our family.  We get the catalog early in the year and begin looking over the various plant options.

Choose only items your family eats.  If no one in your family will eat a salad, then do not buy ten types of lettuce.  You might choose one type to try to begin introducing it into your diet, but I don’t recommend stocking up on it!

In our garden, you will find lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, strawberries, corn, potatoes, and melons.  You will not find radishes in our garden as that is not something anyone in our family likes.  This year, we might add beets as that is a new item we’ve learned to like.  So realize that your garden is totally personalizable.

Prepare Your Soil

After you have made your seed choices, you will need to prepare your soil.  I would recommend picking up a gardening book for beginners to help you understand more about your soil.  Using cow manure, composting your fruit and vegetable scraps along with grass clippings and then using that, along with natural fertilizers are all good soil building options.  Till this into your soil in order to fix it in well and break up the soil for your use.

Plant Your Garden and Watch it Grow

Now, comes the fun part – planting the garden!  I like to use a companion chart which you can find online and in many garden books to know what likes and thrives next to each other.  For example, strawberries and onions will thrive together and help keep each other’s bugs away.  Carefully follow the directions as to depth and type of lighting needed.  Then be sure to keep the garden moist as the seeds begin their journey of germination.

As the garden begins to grow, this is an excellent time to talk with your children about life, the value and time God puts into each of us just as we do the garden.  Also, talking about where our food comes from, the effort that the farmers put into it, and the appreciation for the harvest are great learning topics.  Many children in our modern world do not have this opportunity to realize where and how their food is grown.

Weed Your Garden and Harvest

Now that the garden is doing most of the work, you’re just having to do the weeding, this is an excellent time to begin deciding how you are going to use the harvest.  Depending on the size of your garden, you may only get enough for your family to enjoy fresh, but you might also want to can or freeze some of your produce.  The Ball Blue Book is an excellent guide for beginners in this area.

Just remember that your main goal is to save money, enjoy fresh homegrown produce (nothing will ever beat the taste of produce straight from the garden), and make it a wonderful family experience.

Photo credit: melissa-undomesticmumma