I have come to realize how important it is to be self sufficient and decentralize your life as much as possible. Having a garden is an important part of that process. We have gotten so far away from our roots, as humans. Gardening is one of the staples of life, and it is so simple. People do not need to starve if they cannot afford food in order to pay rent. Start a garden. Good, heirloom, non-monsanto seeds are super cheap, then save your seeds from what you harvest. If you have a garden, you will never go hungry.
I used to have a garden, but when my well ran dry it wasn't feasible to have one. Now that I have water again I am so excited to have another one.
Behold my very first compost pile! This cost me exactly zero to start. After a few phone calls to local stores, I found one that would give me free pallets (I had no idea pallets were a business and cost a fortune!). I went across the street to the neighbors house and raked up all her leaves. I went to Starbucks several times and got free coffee grounds. Everything else used to build this was around the house. On the right, I have a pile that is turned every couple of weeks and is not added to so I hopefully have some beautiful soil in the spring. On the left, is the working pile. I add to it everyday with kitchen scraps and more leaves I have left over from my work in the fall.
As spring approaches I'll build a raised bed and start planting. You feel a sense of empowerment taking care of your own food. It's healthy real food, and that's what our bodies need. There is plenty of time before spring, do some research and start planning.
My favorite place to get seeds right now is rareseeds.com and Natural Grocers has good seeds as well.