Are you thinking about growing your own food? This post will help you brainstorm, create a plan and begin your food growing journey.

Growing your own food can be challenging if you don’t know where to start. However, if you do a little research and make a plan you will find that it isn’t really all too difficult.

Growing your own food for beginners

The first question you should ask yourself is “where do I want to grow my food?” It is important to find out what growing zone you live in to determine which foods will thrive based on the weather, humidity and sun intensity in your region. Click here for the USDA’s plant hardiness map.

Once you have figured out which zone you’re in, you can do some research on foods that do well in your zone. The next thing you should consider is what part of your yard you want to utilize in the process of starting your garden. Do you want to grow your food in the ground away from the house or do you want to grow food in pots right up against the house on the exterior? Do you want them in garden beds that are raised or do you want to grow them straight in the ground?

The next thing to consider is how much sunlight a specific plant needs and determine which area of your yard or which side of your house will provide the correct amount of sun for those plants.

If you are considering growing indoors you may be able to grow more of a variety of plants even if you’re not in the right zone because indoor gardening provides warmth year-round as long as you have heating available. The only tricky part is trying to grow food that thrives in cold weather when you are living somewhere extremely hot. Although it’s not impossible to do this, it is a bit more difficult as you will likely have to germinate (i.e., start your seeds) in a refrigerator or a specific device that regulates temperature for seed starting.

Growing your own food indoors

If you are wanting to grow food indoors you can choose between a nursery/greenhouse, your back porch or front porch (enclosed), your living room or an extra room, or even your garage. Some people have started growing microgreens and specialty herbs in their garage with grow lights. (If your porch is not enclosed it is considered outdoor gardening but it’s the perfect spot for plants that need more shade!)

Growing your own food in an apartment

If you live in an apartment you can grow food inside near windows, on a balcony, or on tables inside with grow lights. In this instance you really need to ask yourself how intensive you want this project to be. Growing one or two plants inside is no big deal but if you’re looking to grow enough food for, let’s say, a family of five, you may need to purchase some equipment in order to create an optimal environment for your food to grow.

Your plants can be set up like the image above near windows or in a bright room or you can start small with something like the image below.

Growing your own food benefits

The benefits of growing your own food include: saving money, learning something new, developing a better relationship with food, appreciating the time and care it takes to produce something and improving your health.

Grocery store costs are on the rise. There was a time when every family had a garden and grew their own food. With the advancement of technology and increased need for “convenience” people have disconnected from food in an unhealthy way. Many people are beginning to look to the past and learn skills that have been forgotten by most, including growing your own food.

It is an important skill to learn how to grow food and feed your family with the least amount of money and the greatest benefit.

When you eat food that has ripened on the plant and you eat it within three days of plucking it from the tree you will be consuming living food that still has living cells that are in motion. When fruit is harvested from a plant prior to being ripe it lacks nutrients and will not be as healthy as home grown options.

One of the easiest fruits to grow are tomatoes. This is a good option to start with for both indoor and outdoor gardens, just be sure to do a little research on how much water and light you need for your plant. Please reach out if you have any more questions about how to start growing your own food.

If you are interested in learning more about how to start seeds indoors please click here.