Differences Between Store-bought and Home Grown Vegetables

My husband and I have grown our own garden for many years. We grow everything from cucumbers and squash, to sweet corn, tomatoes, and potatoes. Yes growing a garden is difficult and time consuming, but in the end you prosper greatly from it. Not only does our food taste better in our opinion, but it also saves us money each year. We can our beans, tomatoes, and our hot peppers. We freeze our corn, peas, green peppers, and lima beans. We also dig our potatoes and put them in crates which we store in a cool place. We also grow asparagus, cucumbers, several types of squash and melons and plenty of onion. I do a lot of pie baking during the holidays, so of course we also grow pumpkins, which we can.

I find that you get a richer, fresh flavor from foods that are homegrown and picked straight from a garden. There are no extra preservatives or additives going into this food. Everything that is picked from a garden has only what you yourself put into it, so no hidden surprises. There are hidden dangers that lie in store bought foods that are processed. Some of these additives can actually cause serious health problems, such as making you fat, causing cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, and hormonal deficiencies. These are not a list of all of the health risks associated with certain types of additives and preservatives, but they are enough to worry me about the foods I purchase to eat. Some of these "bad for you" additives include but are not limited to, BHA, potassium bromate, citrus red No.2 or FD&C citrus no.2, FD&C colors, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and MSG. These particular additives are not found in every food, but are found in many that you would find yourself eating in a regular day. You should really do a lot of research on different types of additives before you go to the grocery store and start throwing things in your cart, it could save your life someday.

You can also save quite a bit of money growing your own garden. Yes there is still cost to it, but in the end it can save you hundreds of dollars a year. You can pay up to $2.00 just for one can of vegetables in the store. After time that $2.00 can add up, and if you happen to eat one can of vegetables a day at that price it adds up to around $728.00 a year in groceries. With growing a garden you do have costs also. You have the cost, of seeds and plants, fertilizers, and of course water. You also at harvest time have the cost of freezer bags, canning jars, canning jar lids and rings, and canning salt. We spend around 75.00 a year in seeds and plants, and reuse canning jars, and rings every year. We do have to buy lids every year though, because they can not be reused when sealing. We do spend approximately 50 to 75 dollars a year on the canning and freezing supplies. In the end we spend from 150.00 to 200.00 a year for our entire gardening, canning, and freezing, which saves us approximately 400 to 500 dollars a year in groceries. We always make sure to can and freeze enough vegetables to last until the next harvest season.

When doing your own garden you do need to make time to take care of it. You can not expect it to produce perfect, fresh, tasty food all on its own, it does require some dedication and hard work. You of course need to plow and till, fertilize and plant, weed and water, and of course pick and enjoy. There are differences between buying your food and growing your food. It is easier to buy your food, but it is also pricier, and comes with health risks. Growing your own gives you a real taste of the food and not the additives, and also saves money, and can help prevent some future health problems.