It is not too late to put in a garden in the Lake Conroe area. Our area has a long growing season so it is a good option for residents. Today we are going to explore three benefits of gardening as well as give you a planting schedule.

Lowers Food Costs

Raising your own vegetables will allow you to purchase less at the grocery store. In light of inflation, many families are trying to cut down costs in their budget. An easy way to spend less is to utilize a small area of their yards as a garden. To read some budget-saving tips with a home garden, read this article.

Seasonal Vegetables are Healthier

There are many benefits to eating seasonally. First, eating vegetables that have ripened on the vine typically tastes better. They also have a higher nutritional value. Antioxidants like vitamin C decline rapidly when vegetables are stored. Also, seasonal vegetables provide your body with what it needs. Claire Georgiou, a naturopath, writes, “Summer foods such as stone fruits provide us with extra beta-carotenes and other carotenoids that help protect us against sun damage…” While in the winter, many foods are high in vitamin C, which helps our bodies fight colds and different types of the flu. To read more, click here.

Gardening is Exercise

According to CNN, “Working in your garden or yard is a source of moderate to vigorous physical activity in younger adults, while providing low to moderate physical activity in older adults…” Gardening activates all major muscle groups and can give you similar benefits to pilates.

Planting Schedule

So now that you know the health benefits of gardening, when do you plant what? In the Lake Conroe area, you can have an early spring garden and a spring garden. The latter will produce through the summer. Then you can plant in August for your fall garden, which will run through the early winter. So you can see that our growing season is almost year-round. Here is a planting schedule specifically for Zone 8. Notice that it extends for the entire year.

These three benefits of gardening incentivize getting your hands dirty and starting a home garden. You can go ahead and plant a spring garden now. Then plan ahead for the fall. Enjoy all the benefits of growing your own vegetables.