The Productive Garden: Growing Your Own Fruits and Vegetables

Productive gardening is growing your own crops of fruits or vegetables in your own garden. You don't need a huge amount of space to start the productive garden, just a desire to cultivate a few plants through the growing season.

I was drawn to the idea of the productive garden after tasting raspberries I picked from a plant as a child. Those freshly picked fruits were bursting with flavor, and weren't comparable to taste (and price!) to the raspberries found in the grocery store.

I watched as my grandmother planted rows of potatoes, beans, and peas. With a little loving care, her garden flourished so that we could eat fresh, nutritious foods without the shelf-life and pesticides found in traditional grocery stores.

As I grew up, I found that my love of a productive garden followed me through different stages of my life. Just out of college, I planted tomatoes in pots on my apartment's balcony. After I was married, my husband and I dug up a plot in the backyard of a rental unit, filling it with rows of peas and beans.

I was thrilled when we bought our own home, and have been slowly introducing a number of plants into the landscape which enhance its artistic value, as well as providing us with fresh and nutritious fruits and vegetables.

We were fortunate enough to buy a property with a number of fruit trees already in place. Previous owners had planted apple, pear, and plum trees surrounding our home. I've found that fruit trees, although an attractive concept, are actually quite a bit of work. The trees must be pruned properly and sprayed to encourage good fruit growth. The fruits also attract a large number of bees, which was sometimes detrimental to our backyard barbeques. Falling fruit, especially at the end of the growing season, can be difficult to pick up from your yard. The taste of the fruit, however, is superb, and we often have more than enough to share with friends. Here is a sample list of when and how to maintain your fruit trees.

The herb garden is a wonderful addition to anyone's productive garden. I've got our herb garden placed directly beside the back door. When I'm cooking, I can just step outside and snip a few springs and add to my recipe. It's a good idea to plant annuals in pots so that you can bring your herbs inside during the colder months.

The vegetable garden is the most popular choice for a productive garden. Even if you've just got one tomato plant, you still belong to the productive gardener club!

I've found that my vegetable garden changes with "seasons" of life. When my children were small, I kept my productive garden small and very easy to manage - a few perennial herbs and a couple of tomato plants. As the kids grew, so did my garden. They helped me plant peas and carrots and sunflowers. Beans were a favorite, as they grow quickly for short-attention spans. We experimented with different vegetables, to see what "fit" into their palettes - radish, eggplant, mints. Strawberries have been a favorite, no matter how old the kids are. This site is great for kid and family-oriented gardeners.

As children age and their interest wanders from the garden, I've found that we eat more and more out of the backyard garden. As our family's diet bends toward the "Zone" (a meal plan with less refined carbohydrates, more green veggies, and lean protein), I've increased our salad rows, adding more tomatoes and carrots. I've also added a few grape vines and have plans for much more.

Bringing the fruits (and vegetables) of your labor to the table is an extremely rewarding experience. With a little planning, weeding, and watering, your productive garden can give your summer a healthy boost.