Buying produce from local sources is a fast growing trend among the quintessential health-conscious consumer. I’d like to take things a step further, and suggest that growing your own fruits and vegetables would be even better.

This year, it is predicted that home-grown fruit and vegetables will increase in popularity at a greater pace than we have seen in a generation. There are too many reasons for this phenomenon to get into here, but suffice it to say that if you are choosing to grow your own food for the first time or expand on your previous attempts, I am here to help.

For the three or four months of the year when your garden is producing fresh food, you have complete control over the quality of it. You can pick it and eat it when it is fresh, you can choose whether to spray it or what to spray it with, and you can decide what to grow for your own table, rather than have someone at your local market do so for you.

The best advice I can give to someone planning their first vegetable garden is “start small.” Even a modest planting can produce more servings than one family can possibly consume. Plant a few vegetables the first year and increase your plantings the following year based on your consumption and growing success.

Your ultimate success will hinge on proper soil preparation and positioning your garden in a sunny spot. This is most true of vegetables than any other form of gardening. The results of your “ground work” will make it all the way to your mouth – and what could be a better judge?