Grow Your Groceries: SNAP-Ed & National Garden Month

Alisa Sponseller
Apr 14
3 min read

April is National Garden Month, a perfect time to start growing your own fresh produce! Gardening is a fun, affordable way to enjoy more fresh fruits and veggies. Whether you have a backyard, a balcony, or just a sunny windowsill, we’re here to help you grow a garden that fits your space (and your budget)!

Why Grow Your Groceries? 🌱🍅🧤🥬

Gardening to grow your own groceries offers many benefits:

Freshness: Vegetables grown in your own garden can ripen fully on the plant, which means better flavor and freshness than store-bought vegetables!
Savings: Reduce grocery bills by growing your own food. Seeds now = fewer grocery trips later!

Health: Growing your own produce gives you easy access to produce packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Plus, you're more likely to eat what you grow!

Activity: Gardening is a great way to grow nourishing food while nourishing both your body and your mind!

Tips for Low-Cost Gardening 💰🥒🌱🛒

Start Small: Start with a few easy-to-grow vegetables like lettuce, zucchini, green beans, or carrots.

Use Containers: If space is limited, use containers or pots. You can even garden indoors in a spot that receives sunlight like your windowsill! Recycled items like buckets or washed out containers can work well to begin to grow your own garden.
- CLICK HERE to learn how to grow your own container garden!
Choose the Right Spot: Ensure your garden gets at least 6 hours of sunlight daily (whether you're choosing a spot indoors OR outdoors).

Use SNAP Benefits: Did you know SNAP benefits can be used to purchase seeds and plants that produce food? This can be a great way to stretch your food budget. Want to learn how? Click Here!

Grow Your Groceries: Budget-Friendly Crops to Grow in Michigan 🥕🥬🍅🥒

Crop	When to Plant	Days to Harvest	Notes
Tomatoes	May-June	60-85	Cherry tomatoes are the easiest; focus on sunlight and support as they grow!
Lettuce	Early Spring & Fall	30-50	Harvest only the outer leaves to keep it growing!
Radishes	Early Spring & Fall	25-30	Great for small spaces or container gardens!
Zucchini	May-June	45-60	One plant gives you a large yield, make sure it has room to spread and grow!
Bell Peppers	May-June	60-90	Needs heat and time to mature and grow!
Green Beans	May	50-60	This plant needs 6-8 hours of sunlight per day to thrive! Harvest often to let them continue growing new beans.
Herbs	Year Round (in container)	45-90	Use fresh or dry them out to use for later!

Food Safety First 🍅🧽🥕⚠️

When gardening, it's important to follow food safety practices. This helps keep you and your loved ones safe while enjoying your fresh produce. Learn how to keep safety first with the resources below:

Container Gardening Safety Learn More

Raised Bed Gardening Safety Learn more

Rooted in Health, Growing Together

This National Garden Month (or any month where things are growing), we invite you to take a step towards growing your own food. Gardening can be a rewarding experience that benefits your health, wallet, and community!

Share your gardening journey with us on social media using #GrowYourGroceries and #NationalGardenMonth.

For more information and resources, visit our SNAP-Ed page at livewell4health.org/snap-ed.