After reading a few green blogs about gardening we are trying again this year for a vegetable garden. Last year we started a few hundred vegetable seedlings only to have them consumed by our goats a couple of days after we planted them. This year we decided to plant our vegetables in above ground planters so we can control their growing environment. In the past we used chemicals on our lawn and we do not want to risk any of the chemicals coming in contact we our food. Since we have switched over to organic fertilizers we will wait a few years before we use our own soil for gardening. Hopefully by next year we will be able to add our own compost to our potting soil.

I got the idea of planting an above ground garden from http://blog.food2gro.com and I would recommend that you take a look at Jubie’s site since she has mastered this art. I cheated and bought my soil and my plants were already started. Before you write me off as a complete cheater, check back in a few days when I publish my article about starting our flower garden from seeds.

So far I have found these benefits:

1. You can start your garden earlier in the year. If you are expecting a frost you can bring your garden inside. Generally we do not plant anything before mother’s day and even then we risk a frost.

2. You can control you soil without risking your food to any chemicals in your yard.

3. You can move your plants so the smaller ones are not buried in the shadows of the larger plants.

4. You can move your plants in and out of the sun if you are bored.

5. You regain your yard space once your planting season is done.

Some people might ask what the heck gardening has to do with “Green Home Improvements”. I feel that in order for people to feel good about the environment they first need to like it. Once you begin to like the environment you can begin to find ways to protect it. Since most people enjoy the benefits of flowers and gardens, I feel that adding a flower or vegetable garden is a perfect “Green Home Improvement”! If you fast forward a little to the benefits that your gardens will bring you over the next 12 months you will understand why we need good air quality, good soil quality and a good environment in general.

Flower gardens can add beauty to home from March when the first bulbs appear until late fall when the last flowers appear. These flowers and also be cut to add decoration to your dinner table or placed in a vase and used as a gift. Imagine the reward of growing your own flowers and then giving a sick friend or family member a nice arrangement of them? If your planning a nice dinner and you want to spruce up the table a little, some nice freshly cut flowers from your garden will save time, money and a trip to the flower store. With careful planning, flowers can add a smile to each and every day of the year.

Vegetable gardens can provide fresh vegetables for your family from late fall until your last canned jar is empty. Growing up we had a large garden and I can’t remember ever buying vegetables from the grocery store. It was equally a joy to pick fresh vegetables for dinner as it was to open a mason jar in February and enjoy our work from the summer. Imagine a Halloween with your own pumpkins and Indian corn, or the joy of drying out your own sunflower seeds? How about showing your kids how to grow cucumbers and then turning them into pickles with your own dill?

By now you must be wondering how all of this gardening stuff is green. By growing your own flowers and vegetables you have these green benefits;

1. You can provide your family with organic food.

2. You can control what chemicals (hopefully none) that your family consumes when they eat vegetables.

3. You can save gas by saving a few trips to the grocery store for fresh vegetables.

4. You will begin to think about air, soil and water quality and hopefully you will want to protect your soil, air and water from pollutants.

5. The biggest green benefit is that you can use some of your yard space for a garden. Grassy lawns are far from being green since they require gas to mow and chemicals to keep them nice and green. In my opinion the only nice looking lawns are the ones that are pumped full of chemicals. How about a lawn pumped full of nice flowers and vegetables?

6. If you have kids you can teach them how a nice environment can produce beautiful flowers and great tasting vegetables.

Feel free to expand on this this by leaving a comment.