Why Plant a Garden?


Imagine a country of homes with something besides grass lawns in every yard. Imagine food growing where all the lawns once were -- fresh, organic, delicious food. Imagine Americans eating the food they grow themselves and feeling healthy and happy!

It's happening. All across the country, Americans are replacing their lawns with vegetable gardens. For the price of seeds, a few gardening tools and a little water, people are eating as local and as fresh as it gets. They're spending less time driving to the grocery store and waiting in lines, and more time at home and enjoying the outdoors and their loved ones.

From the White House to the house across the street, Americans are experiencing the joy that comes from being their own farmer. An April 4, 2009 CBS News story reported that "A 'Victory Garden' revival is sweeping the nation," referring to the World War II practice of home-growing resources for victory.

Turning your lawn into a vegetable garden is still a patriotic, and green, thing almost anybody can do. All you need is access to a little patch of dirt.

Green Home provides many resources for environmentally friendly yard and garden products that will help you create an energy-efficient, pollutant and chemical-free garden for your home. See our Yard & Garden Department for the most current green gardening devices on the market.

Benefits of Having a Garden:


Even the smallest space can be transformed into an outdoor welcoming oasis and provide multiple benefits to our environment including:

• Providing space for children and adults to enjoy the outdoors
• Creating ground shade for cooling the local surroundings
• Helping control dust and filter pollutants in the air (and adding oxygen)
• Muting and refracting light to reduce energy usage (especially on city rooftops)
• Welcoming microorganisms which actively breakdown various pollutants, i.e. air contaminants, pollen, pesticides
• Reducing pollution caused by surface runoff (cycling rainwater)
• Naturally calming the soul and reducing stress
• Encouraging wildlife including migrating birds and butterflies

In a nutshell, Gardens enable us to grow our own food, conserve energy, control rainfall runoff and flooding, lower noise levels, harbor wildlife, and provide a refreshing source of oxygen. A home grown garden rewards your family with a cheap, healthy, organic, super local food source all season long. Plus, you will know exactly what soil, air and water is feeding your food!

Great Information on Creating Your Own Garden:


Bugging out in the Garden by Chris Clarke: http://www.greenhome.com/info/articles/your_garden/59/

Growing Native in Your Garden by Ron Sullivan: http://www.greenhome.com/info/articles/your_garden/58/

How to Fertilize Your Garden Plants by Chris Clarke: http://www.greenhome.com/info/articles/eating_well/27/

Also see these wonderful articles on gardening:


Building a Vegetable Garden: http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/build-a-garden.html

Starting Your First Vegetable Garden: http://www.gardenguides.com/how-to/tipstechniques/vegetables/veggie.asp

Vegetable Gardening Basics: http://www.thegardenhelper.com/vegetables.html

Vegetable Gardening Tips, Advice and FAQ's:


Food for Everyone: http://www.foodforeveryone.org/faq/

Back Yard Gardener: http://www.backyardgardener.com

See the National Gardening Association's website for excellent articles and information: http://www.garden.org/home

A great book on gardening in small spaces: All New Square Foot Gardening

Excellent resource on gardening: http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/organic-gardening-tips-460309

Once you set up your Eco-Friendly Garden, you can fertilize it with compost that you get from your new Compost Bin, and water it with water that you've saved from an economical Rainwater Harvesting System.