Planting herbs, fruits, and vegetables can save you a lot of money at the grocery store, and get you out in the nice spring sunshine.  Plus, it can be a fun and inexpensive family activity.  Don't think that you have to own a large piece of land to grow food.  You can grow herbs, fruits, and vegetables in the smallest of places, including urban apartments. 

Nothing tastes better than food fresh from the garden, and there is a strong sense of satisfaction in eating something you've grown yourself.  Plus, there are numerous health benefits to eating fresh organic food.  Below are some FAQs about home gardening that will hopefully help you on your way.

How much money can I save with a garden?
Well, that all depends on the garden, but the Wall Street Journal has reported that a $70 garden could produce $600 worth of vegetables according to the National Garden Association.  Thats quite a savings.

How much land do I need to grow herbs, fruits and vegetables?
Not much.  In fact some herbs, fruits, and vegetables can be grown in an urban apartment.  Using small pots and upside down planters such as the Felknor Ventures TT021112 Topsy Turvy Tomato & Herb Planter you could grow fruits and vegetables on an apartment balcony or even inside, by a window.  Herbs can easily be grown in a small window box.  A friend of mine, who lives in an upstairs apartment downtown, grows tomatoes on her balcony and strawberries in a pot inside the apartment on a window ledge.  As long as the plants can get sunlight, they are generally okay and don't necessarily have to be outside.  Of course that all depends on the particular type of plant you are growing so do some research before investing in pots and seeds as each plant needs a different amount of sun.   

Of course the more land you have the more you can grow, but full in-the-ground gardens can be grown on very little land.  If you don't have a lot of space, I'd recommend the book Square Foot Gardening: A New Way to Garden in Less Space with Less Work.

What if I don't know anything about gardening?
No problem.  Gardening isn't exactly rocket science.  Basically plants need three things to survive, soil, water, and sunlight.  How much water and sunlight depends on the plant, and of course some soils are better than others.  Of course it never hurts to read up on a subject you are unfamiliar with.  Some popular gardening books are Vegetable Gardening For Dummies and Western Garden Book of Edibles: The Complete A-Z Guide to Growing Your Own Vegetables, Herbs, and Fruits.  There are also a lot of websites out there that give some really useful information, such as Backyard Gardener. 

What if I don't have a "green thumb?"
My family was in the nursery business, so I've been working with plants since I was a kid.  In my experience, saying a person has a "green thumb" simply means they are attentive to their plants.  As I said before gardening isn't rocket science, but plants do require attention.  How much attention depends on the plant.  For example, sweet peas require a lot more water than green beans.  But since plants really only need soil, water and sunlight to survive, all you really need to do is make sure they get the correct amount of each.  You can maintain proper soil by either buying bags of soil from your local garden store or the big chains such as Wal Mart and Home Depot etc, or you can use seasonal crop rotation to return the necessary nutrients to the soil.  For example, corn uses up a lot of the soil's nutrients so the next year, in the place you planted corn, plant soy beans instead, because soybeans return nutrients to the soil.  You can find a crop rotation chart at Yankee Gardener.  But if the soil is bad, generally the plants will never sprout, or if they do, will not mature.  Therefore, if your plants have already matured then your problem is most likely not the soil.  Plants let you know when something is wrong by wilting.  In my experience a wilting plant generally means it does not have enough water, but this is not always the case. 

To check to see if a plant needs more water simply stick your finger in the soil at the base of the plant.  The amount of wetness to the soil will indicate how much water the plant needs.  If the soil is bone dry, it will need a good soaking, but if it is damp it may only need a slight shower or no water at all.  Sometimes, plants get too hot, especially in the summer.  Just like with humans, the hotter they get the more water they'll need.  But sometimes a plant just needs to get a light sprinkle to wet the leaves and cool it down.  So check the soil, because it is possible to over water a plant.  Too much water can kill a plant by causing its roots to rot, or by washing away soil and nutrients. If your plants need more nutrients in the soil use a fertilizer.  If you want to be organic, there are some wonderful organic fertilizers, but sometimes they smell pretty bad.  Check out the books and websites I listed above to get more information on the proper care of plants.

It is also helpful to fertilize your plants.  Fertilizing can drastically increase plant growth.  There are many fertilizers on the market, but a good natural fertilizer is Protogrow.  You can also make your own fertilizer at home.  Check out this website to learn how to make your own fertilizer.

When is the best time of year to plant?
That depends on your location and the type of plant.  Most seed packages will tell you when to plant those particular seeds in the region you live in.  They also give you helpful information on how deep to plant, how much water and sunlight will be needed, and how far the space the plants from each other.

Where can I buy seeds?
You can buy seeds from many different places including local garden stores, grocery stores, and big chains like Target, Wal Mart, Home Depot, or Lowes.  You can also buy seed banks that will last for years and can grow a wide variety of vegetables.

Hope this helped.  Now get out there and start planting your garden to save money, eat healthy, and have fun in the sun.