Friendly advice before growing food in your home
There are things that you need to do to ensure you are ready to grow fresh produce in your home. I have some crucial advice to consider before you get started.
Find or create your safe space for a growing area.
Some say Airbnb; I say Plant-bnb(Maybe that’s an idea). I’d rather have plants in my home than strangers. Call me weird, but at least these plant visitors feed me. Consider those rooms, garages or unused areas of your home perfect areas to grow plants.
Just as you would with a pet, plants need a place made for them to grow. Your space can be as small as 2ft x 4ft or even smaller if you grow on your walls. Yes, you can do that, but you do need space to allow access to your plants for pruning and to allow for harvesting your plants when they grow. Consider an area that doesn’t have high traffic or lots of obstructions. It can be a corner of a room or even the basement or attic. This area is for your plants, and you are ultimately creating the atmosphere for them to call home.
Know what you can grow
While you can grow almost anything, indoor growing has its limitations at times. If you don’t have space or lighting, you could end up losing a plant.
If you are a beginner, stick to leafy greens and herbs first and then move on to the fruiting plants like cucumbers or tomatoes.
Learning how plants grow is a big part of this journey. Think a lot about what you’re going to eat and focus on those things first. After you have a grasp on the lifecycle of plants and gardening, you can even grow trees in your home. Yes…well not actual 20 ft. Orchard trees, but the mini versions called dwarfs. Dwarf trees include avocado, lemon, apple and many many more. Even though they are dwarfs, they yield a regular sized fruit. More on this in a future article.
Budget time and money for your grow
Many people want fresh produce, but don’t want to commit to working in their gardens. You only need ten mins or so to look over a small garden to make sure nothing is wrong. Make minor adjustments if needed and go on about your day. But harvest and planting days take a little longer; 30–60 mins for small gardens. That time includes clean up and storage. So you may want to plant and harvest on days that you have no time restrictions.
As far as money goes, a garden can be very cheap DIY to the expensive, ridiculous smart home integrated grow rooms. Either way, know what your limit is and be aware of the power and water usage. Reading usage isn’t a significant problem if you are buying the right products. I will cover ways in which I save energy and water costs in a later post.
In comparison, indoor farming is more expensive to start than to maintain long-term. Meaning you will spend more money, comparably, in configuring your garden than supporting it day to day. It’s an investment for sure, and one you won’t regret after a year of not spending money on vegetables you have grown in your home.
How it all stacks up
Trust, the savings do add up quickly, especially for cooks, vegans, and vegetarians. Indoor farming saves so much money in comparison to farmers markets and wholly priced foods(see what I did there). Do note that the price comparison should be measured against the quality of produce, not just any item at a local grocer. Meaning the cost of premium certified non-GMO organic produce versus your cost to grow. Spoiler alert 🚨. It’s not even close!
Here’s an example from a previous study compared to prices at Shop Rite by a grower in this article.
Total monetary value: $330.08
Total expenses: $21.78
Net savings: $308.30
According to a 2016 study from Time Magazine, The average American household forks out $6,759 a year on food, or 12.6 percent of total spending, according to the Consumer Expenditure Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of that, $756 is spent on fruits and vegetables, and $2,787 on the high cost of eating out. This cost compared to $40–100 per year for small in home gardens that can produce year-round produce.
Use that free labor around you to lighten the load
Involve your friends or family in the process of growing and harvesting food. There are roles for all of the people around you. Everyone should help in planting, watering, pruning and harvesting plants. It’s a great way to keep the family involved and to create a sense of community.
The chef will love the fresh options they get in their now gourmet-tasting meals. Showing them how to harvest plants properly will be key. The DIY’er will enjoy it because of the plethora of ways to utilize space for food growth and to get use out of those forgotten attic and garage objects. The frugal spender will love the money saving aspects and should pitch in to help to get that lettuce stored. The geek will love programming light timers, water pumps, and smart home integrations. The earth saver will enjoy contributing to the world by reducing carbon emissions from traveling produce and by reducing waste through composting. The kids will be utterly fascinated by learning about plants and will want to help. Teaching them will prove worth it when parents want to keep them off those devices and show them about nature. Teaching them how to care for the plants is full of life lessons. I’ve witnessed five-year-olds planting basil, and it is quite the sight.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, make this an addition to you and your families lifestyle. Plants need a relationship. Make room for them, learn about them, spend time and invest in them and most of all, include others in this new way of living. You won’t regret seeing the health and awareness of your family and friends grow into something beautiful.
