Recession in America – Gardening

This is the seventh in a series of ten posts focusing on the Recession in America and the impacts it is having on things other than your 401k and personal finances. Check out the first six posts in this series titled -
Recession in America – What about our pets?
Recession in America – Home Foreclosures
Recession in America – Unexpected Landlords
Recession in America – Abandoned Subdivisions
Recession in America – Trading Stocks not Investing
Recession in America – Freelance Jobs

Today I would like to cover a new trend that is forming as a direct result of the economic recession we are facing. This trend is actually something I believe is a good thing and will actually help our environment. This latest trend that I am writing about is the gardening boom that is going on. Because of the recession, families are looking for any way to cut back on expenses – including groceries. Besides meat, some of the more expensive grocery items are fruits and vegetables. As a result, families are beginning to go back to a lost tradition of gardening.

Home gardens are expected to grow by double digits this year and some gardening companies are actually running out of vegetable seeds already – and spring hasn’t officially even arrived yet. Depending on the amount of fruits and vegetables you purchase at the store, you could cut out $50 a week or more by growing your own produce. I calculated that my family spends on average about $30 per week on fruits and vegetables during the spring and summer months. While there are some items that we wouldn’t grow in a garden (i.e. apples), we could save about $15 per week by growing our own garden.

There are some other benefits to starting your own garden besides saving money. Here are some noticeable benefits to starting a garden besides the obvious money savings you will notice -

• Environment – Starting a garden and taking care of it is good for the environment. If you are growing your products locally, then they don’t have to travel on a truck that wastes gas and puts harmful emissions into the atmosphere.
• Pride – I personally enjoy gardening and my landscape design around my home. I take a lot of pride and ownership in what I grow. Growing and maintaining a garden can give you a feeling of accomplishment and pride in the hard work you have completed.
• Stress Reducer – Being outdoors and taking care of a garden is a useful way to lower your stress from the daily grind. You are outside getting fresh air and taking care of something. What better way to unwind at the end of the day than to go outside and pick some fresh veggies for dinner!
• Family Project – If you have young children, a garden can be an excellent way to teach your children about nature. Have your kids help you with the garden and teach them about plant life and fruits and vegetables along the way!
• Health Benefits – Starting a garden also has the obvious health benefits (other than reducing stress). Eating fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet will help you lose weight and promote a healthy lifestyle. If you have the opportunity, try and start an organic garden to reduce the amounts of harmful pesticides that are put into the environment.

My Family Garden
Last year, my oldest son and I started a small garden in our backyard to grow some of our favorite fruits. We planted several watermelon and cantaloupe seeds so that we could enjoy the fruit all summer long. While we did not start this mini garden to save money, we did see some costs savings along the way. We actually started the garden as a project for my son and I to work on together. He loves watermelon and was very interested in how the plants grew and where they came from. What better way to teach him this than by growing our own plants right in the backyard!

After some discussions with my wife a few weeks ago, we have decided to go all out this year with our garden. My wife and I have tried to start buying more organic fruits and vegetables to eat. So instead of spending a lot more for these products at the store, we plan on growing a lot of different fruits and vegetables on our own to offset some of the costs. This project will also help to teach our children more about the environment as they will see how different plants grow. In addition, our oldest son will be responsible for watering and weeding the garden throughout the week which will give him something to be responsible for. These activities will also get him outside away from watching television all summer long!

Do you grow your own fruits and vegetables?

Tagged as: gardening, recession in america