Home Gardening for Food and Profit

Every person who is physically capable, should grow his own food.  Growing vegetables and fruits is fun, economical, and healthy.

Fun:  Gardening can be fun in many ways.  It can be competitive - will you or your neighbor grow the biggest watermelon?  It can be relationship building - how about a gardening date?  It can be interesting - there's plenty to learn, and an incredible number of fascinating cultivars

Economical:  Sure, one can spend hundreds of dollars on specialized fertilizers, irrigation systems, and pesticides that will increase output.  Yet, most plants will grow with just an appropriate climate, decent soil, water, and sunlight.  Growing food is usually cheaper than buying food.  In third world countries, this can be especially relevant.  Yet, in the United States, need we forget the victory gardens of World War 1 and World War 2 that in some small way helped the economy sustain through the wars?

Healthy:  Assuming your soil is not laced with lead, as some urban gardeners have unfortunately experienced, what can be better for you than organic food that did not need to be preserved, packaged, or laced with pesticides to make it to your dinner table?  Further, the act of gardening itself has several health benefits.  Obviously it provides exercise.  Less obviously, it has been shown to reduce stress levels.  And, somewhat obviously, it improves children's' perception of the natural world around them.

There are less tangible benefits too.  How about what gardening means for a society's connection to nature?  Or, the beauty of the plants themselves?  And perhaps, encouraging hobbies that are more positive than one-way media consumption.

The world needs more home gardeners.  As the world population continues to grow, and agriculturally suitable land continues to dwindle, using every accessible plot is a no-brainer.  It can also play a small part in reducing food expenditures for families struggling in the muddled world economy.