Kathleen Quillian
Kathleen Quillian thought planting an organic garden would save her family money and was good for the environment. Now, she has second thoughts.
My mom and I were so excited: we finally got motivated and started our very own organic garden. Our backyard was perfect for it — with plenty of sun and nice fertile soil. This was going to be a great way to save money on our organic produce… so we thought.
To start, we bought a 15-dollar shovel, 6 bags of organic dirt at 5 bucks apiece, seeds, and a 10 dollar incubator to start them off in our window sill. You probably see where this is going… I started wondering if we would really be saving money.
It seems growing your own garden has become a fad in the US due to the downturn in the economy and grocery prices have shot up. So, we think growing our own food will help out.
But now I question whether this food garden craze saves money or even helps the environment. When I think about all the trips to the store my mom and I made to get our supplies, I feel guilty about my carbon footprint. And, when I add up the total from all the purchases — I feel skeptical we’ll get our money’s worth from those tomato plants.
Of course I’m looking forward to eating healthy organic food that I helped grow. I also think a garden is a great family project. However, I think I would rather go down the street to my neighborhood grocery store and pick up a bag of their potatoes, rather than putting so much time, money and sweat to grow my own.
