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The biggest hurdle for you to start growing your own food is likely the same that I and others have faced as well – getting started.

Luckily, I was able to ignore that voice in the back of my head and just got growing. Think about it. What did people do hundreds of years ago? They didn’t take a class or “Google” the answer. They just got to planting and learned as they went along.

Well the fact that you have come to this page, you are getting closer to starting and that’s a good thing.

Why you should grow some of your own food
This is the first question that people usually ask. Why would I grow my own when I can go to the grocery store and pick it up whenever I want. Growing your own definitely is not a convenience thing (though at times it can be), but it’s about reconnecting with our food source and making a social statement such as standing up against the exploitation of women. Read all of the reasons why you should garden and grow your own food.

Choose your location
Now that you have some solid reasons to start, you’ll need to choose the location of where you will start. Examine your home or apartment and think about where a good location could be.

The two most important things that you should consider are how much sunlight the area gets and how far it is from water. My guess is that you don’t want to be lugging water through your place to water your garden.

Don’t just look down
Now that you have your location chosen the next step is to take a closer look at the area. Life up your chin and don’t just look at the floor. Look at other spaces as well – windowsills, ledges, railings and the space above you.

What’s the conditions?
As previously mentioned it’s important to know how much direct sunlight your space gets. At the minimum you’ll need about 2-3 hours of direct sunlight. On my balcony garden I’m getting only 4-6 hours of morning sun and that’s cool. I can’t grow everything that I want, but I can still grow something.

What to grow in
This can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be. I am a DIY kind of guy. I’ve used soda bottles, 5-gallon containers and shipping pallets to create my gardens, but also use some products as well. If you are interested in any product recommendations, hit me up and I can put you in contact with one of my sponsors. Otherwise, you can read more about some creative DIY gardening projects.

What to grow
I’m pretty sure this is what you’ve been asking yourself since you came to this page. The answer could very well be dictated by your location and conditions. Since I’m growing in 5-gallon containers and in mostly shade, my selection is limited. That’s not to say it’s non-existent. It’s just smaller.

My top recommendation are always greens and lettuces. We all eat them and know how to use them, so they make sense. The fact that they are pretty easy to grow and are small also helps out.

From an economical standpoint I think herbs make a lot of sense. In the grocery store, you have to buy a bushel of them at a hefty price when all you really need are a few leaves for your dish. So you wind up using a small portion and the rest goes to waste. When you grow your own, you can take what you need and let it continue to grow. It’ll always be on hand.

Tips and advice
I’m all for people just diving in and figuring it out along the way because there is no definitive right and wrong when it comes to growing your own. To help you out I’ve compiled some tips and have advice for those of you that are just starting. Check out some tips for beginners.

This helps to give you the basics of you starting to grow your own food. There is no need to plant a huge garden (unless you want to). I firmly believe that growing just one plant will make a difference.

If I can do this, why can’t you?