Extension Report

Baldwin County Extension Office

302A Byrne Street

Bay Minette, AL  36507

Telephone (251) 937-7176 or

928-0860/943-5061 ext. 2222

FAX (251) 937-7285

Mike McQueen

Regional Extension Agent

Home Grounds, Gardens & Home Pests

March 22, 2011

Why Grow Vegetables?

If you already grow some vegetables or buy fresh local ones, you know the much- improved flavor over ones shipped from other locations.  In addition to better flavor, some of the reasons gardeners cite for growing their own vegetables include better health, food safety, saving money, helping the environment, and having a better quality of life.

Changes continue to be made in both varieties of vegetables and their post-harvest handling, resulting in improved flavors than in older varieties and past years.  Yet if you've tasted fresh produce compared to that in stores or frozen, you don't need research to tell you the difference in flavor.  Nutritional quality of vegetables is generally higher as well when freshly harvested.

By growing your own vegetables, you may end up eating more, which is good for the health of most.  Research continues to show that those who eat more fruits and vegetables are less likely to have chronic diseases such as strokes and cancers.  You can get vitamins and minerals from supplements, but produce contains other natural compounds (such as anti-oxidants to help prevent cancers) as well that may help protect you from chronic disease.  Research shows too that most don't eat enough of these each day.  There is a fun and quick calculator online from the government to figure what is best for you

(www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov).

So how much money can you save growing your own vegetables?  Some calculations by the National Gardening Association in 2009 ( www.gardenresearch.com) showed that a general, national estimate was that for investing $70 in seeds and supplies you could grow 350 pounds of vegetables worth about $600.  So you would save, for an average 600 square foot garden, over $500.  Of course this figure may vary up or down depending on your own area, season, vegetables grown, and other variables.      

Growing your own vegetables helps the environment in at least a couple of ways. Non-local but domestic produce we buy in stores travels an average 1500 miles or more (www.foodroutes.org).  Produce from other countries obviously travels even farther.  This shipping and transport burns fossil fuels, which produces greenhouse gases that increase global warming.  So buying local, or growing your own produce, reduces these effects. 
Another environmental benefit from your own production is the ability to produce relatively small amounts, with little or no pesticides and synthetic chemicals.  Farms, even small ones, often use these with some ending up staying in soils or washing into waterways. Even organic farms often use plastics and fossil fuels for tractors, items you can avoid in a small home garden. If you can't produce some or all the vegetables you'd like, at least buying local and organically will have better environmental and economic impacts.

In addition to the clear benefits of growing your own vegetables and fruits is the benefit of a better quality of life.  If you garden you know its stress-relieving qualities and health benefits from exercise.  There is the pleasure of sampling the fruits of your labor, fresh off the plant, as you work.  There is the visual pleasure of a well-laid out and maintained garden.  In a chaotic world where you may not have much control over events, a garden and landscape can provide you that sense of order (as long as you don't get too large too quick, with your garden out of control).

Convinced to start a vegetable garden yet?  Even if you already have one, you should benefit from information at local garden stores, some of the many books, and websites including the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/indexes/anrho.php). Watch your local newspaper, too, for gardening events such as classes and workshops. Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension Professor, University of Vermont was used as a resource for this article.

Master Gardener Spring Plant Sale and Outreach

The Baldwin County Master Gardeners will be conducting a spring plant sale April 1st – 3rd 2011 on Highway 98 across from the Weeks Bay Reserve. Plant sale hours are 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Friday – Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Locally grown plants, natives, perennials, shrubs, hummingbird and butterfly attractors, camellias and native azaleas will be available for purchase. Proceeds from the plant sale will benefit the BCMG scholarship fund and other community outreach projects. Master Gardeners will be on site to provide research-based information and Alabama Cooperative Extension System publications.

Email address: mcquegj@aces.edu

Phone number: 937-7176 or 943-5061, 928-0860, ext. 2222

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture is an equal opportunity educator and employer.