Why on Earth Should I Plant a Garden?!!

***WHY?***

• 1. Our Prophets Have Asked us to Have a Garden
  
  
  President Spencer W. Kimball said “We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. Berry bushes, grapevines, fruit trees— plant them if your climate is right for their growth. Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard. Even those residing in apartments … can generally grow a little food in pots and planters. Study the best methods of providing your own foods. Make your garden … neat and attractive as well as productive. If there are children in your home, involve them in the process with assigned responsibilities” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1976, 170–71; or Ensign, May 1976, 124).

• 2. Gardening Saves Us Money

The cost of seeds or even small plants is much more economical than dealing with rising food prices in this day and age. The garden should be practical and designed in every way to grow usable food in an inexpensive manner.

• 3. Food Quality

If you have eaten food fresh from the garden, you know that the quality and taste of the food produced in your own garden far excels the quality and taste of vegetables purchased from the grocery store. This is true because your objectives are different from those of the commercial grower, which are more concerned about looks and shipping than taste and quality.

• 4. Food Storage

Many vegetables, such as carrots and beets, will hold in the ground for many months as part of a food storage program. Winter squash, onions and potatoes will keep for 8 – 10 months in a cool dry place, like your garage.

• 5. Family Affair

A very important reason to plant a garden is to have a project in which the family can be involved and work together. Include your children in the planting, watering, weeding, and especially harvesting of your garden and watch them grow right along with your veggies. It is great that the children know where their food comes from and learn principles of hard work and industry. Plus, if your kids are involved in the planting, they are more likely to do the eating of the vegetables.

• 6. Promotes Healthy Eating

It is easy to get your five a day when delicious and nutritious foods are growing right out your back door. Nothing beats a handful of sugar snap peas for dinner or a big bowl of strawberries for a snack.

• 7. Enjoyment and Satisfaction

There is something very exhilarating about the smell of good earth, and the process of bringing delicious food from the garden to the table is very satisfying. It is also fun to have something to give away to friends and neighbors.