Could Growing Your Own be the Way to go?

 **Collaborative Post**

AD: It is no secret that right now money is tight for a lot of us, we are always looking at ways to cut costs, spend less, and get more for our money but in the current climate that's proving to be pretty difficult. Especially when prices are going up on everyday things we purchase such as the food shop! But have you ever considered growing your own food? Even if you only have a small garden space you could still be utilising it to grow your own vegetables and fruits and in the long run, save yourself money! You can even make a start right now since you can even pick up some vegetable seeds online! 

That is why I have teamed up with Beetham Nurseries to talk to you all about the benefits of growing your own fruit and veg as well as look at just what you could be growing and enjoying all from your own garden with a little help from their amazing range of plants and seeds. 

Beetham Nurseries is a family-owned, independent garden centre based in South Cumbria (just 4 miles from the M6) that sell everything you could possibly need to transform your garden space into anything you could dream of. From beautiful outdoor furniture to relax on to plants, fruit and vegetable plants for sale, and even gift ideas! But that's not all, they passionate about offering their customers a unique and helpful service, they even offer workshops that you can attend such as gardening workshops and food & drink workshops or if you are looking for something to do with the kids, they host family friend events for things like Easter and Christmas too! 

Today though I want to focus on Beetham Nurseries' plant side because it's pretty impressive and perfect if you are planning on growing your own! If you are looking for anything from advice to actually purchasing plants, you can't go wrong by paying a visit to their outdoor Plant Area and Growing Nursery to see a huge range of plants, including rare and exotics in The Glasshouse within The Growing Nursery itself. They have everything for all your gardening needs including compost, tools, equipment, wildlife feed & houses, and seasonal products such as bulbs, vegetable plants and potatoes!

The Beetham nurseries website even has a handy "tips and advice" section which is perhaps one of my favourites as a novice gardener. It is packed full of handy advice broken down into months giving advice on what jobs you should be tackling each month and what to plant to ensure the best outcome for everything you plant! 

So If you are inspired to pay a visit and start growing some of your own fruits and vegetables check out the pro's and con's below and don't forget to let me know in the comments if you currently grow any of your own fruit or veg at home, I would love to hear what you are all growing! 

The Benefits of Growing Your Own Fruit and Veg

- Reduced cost - We all know that the price of almost everything is going up in supermarkets and stores (understandably since farmers are facing rising costs too). But growing your own, especially in the long run can save you so much money. If you can get a good selection going you will have seasonal fruit and veg on hand through the year and you can even prep and freeze lots of the veg and fruit you grow so you have access to it all year. 

- Zero pesticides/ control over what you use - Whilst we would like to believe that packaging tells us what we are buying when it comes to produce unless you grow the items yourself you have no idea what your fruit and veg may have come in contact with before it reaches you! Many places will use pesticides or other means or keeping crops growing and healthy so if you are trying to avoid these things, growing your own really is the best way.

- Enourage children to eat a better variety - Growing your own fruit and veg is the perfect way to learn (as a child OR adult). It can be beyond satisfying and intriguing growing your own edible fruit and veg from little seeds or shoots and kids LOVE watching these plants grow. Plus if you have kids who may avoid fruit and veg then growing their own is a great way to get them excited to try new things, things they have grown themselves, they are often much more inclined to try something they have lovingly grown! 

- Less Plastic - If you are trying to cut down on your plastic use or the amount of unrecyclable product you use then growing your own is perfect for you. Not only do you never need to wrap it in plastic but you can grow only the fruit and veg you like so there is never any real waste. I hate the thought of shops needing to wrap our fresh fruit and veg in so much plastic, especially when it is often in its own skin or protective layer anyway. Eliminate that extra plastic by growing your own.

The Issues you Might Face Growing Your Own Fruit and Veg

- Takes time - One thing you do need when growing your own is a little bit of patience, especially that first year. Don't expect to plant sees and have fruit in a week, it simply doesn't happen so you really do need patience when it comes to growing your own. 

- Initial cost outlay - Whilst I mentioned above that you can save money growing your own, it is worth noting that there will be some kind of initial outlay depending on what you already have, and what you intend on growing. Your going to need soil, pots, or places in your garden to place into the ground, , time to water and love them.

- The amount of space needed - People seem to think you need a big open space or an allotment to grow your own things but that simply isn't true, yes obviously the bigger the space you have the easier it will be and if you want to grow a large amount of veg then space could become an issue but to start out with even if you just have a space on a balcony, you can still find a way! Of course if you fall in love with growing your own or need more space you could look into renting something like an allotment but don't let lack of space put you off starting! 

Have you ever considered growing your own food at home? We had a go at a few bits last year with varying degrees of success (although our strawberries were delicious!), but after reading the handy guides from Beetham Nurseries I can already see we made lots of mistakes such as planting at the wrong time of year. I am therefore hopeful that this year we might have a little more success! 

I will also mention that if you have children getting them involved is the perfect way to not only get them interested in understanding where fruit and veg come from and how it's grown but for getting them to try new veggies too! My reluctant toddler was far more interested in consuming something she grew! But remember to have fun with it, and if something doesn't work one year don't give up, you could be yielding a bumper hall the following year with some tweaks and adjustments! 

If you are looking at having a go at planting your own fruit and veg this year or would like to know more about the process, you can visit the  Beetham Nurseries Website for tons of useful advice! 

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