Growing Your Own Food: What are the benefits?

(Photo credits go to Kristina Paukshtite)

Written By Casey Bloom

You may have considered planting your own garden but can’t decide whether it’s worth it. More people are getting into this green hobby, but you may be unsure if you have a green thumb yourself.

You’ll learn from this short piece that if you have the time, space, and interest to start a garden, it’s well worth it. Getting a green thumb is not a gift from providence but from learning how to grow crops through time and effort.

If you’re still in doubt, you may ask, “What are the benefits of growing produce in your home?” You may also be wondering if planting fruits and vegetables is practical when you live in the city. Or, how much money is needed to start that garden patch in your home?

With growing economic uncertainty, many people may consider becoming self-sufficient. This article discusses how to practice self-reliance by growing and cultivating your source of sustenance.

Though farming is not for everyone, as you need a good amount of land, that doesn’t mean you can’t do it in your home to a certain extent. Here you’ll learn ideas about growing and cultivating food in your home, even if you live in a city.

Another benefit of planting and growing vegetables and fruits in a home garden is that you’ll be sure of what you and your family are eating. With this knowledge, mothers with infants can use homegrown vegetables as weaning foods. Using homegrown fruits and vegetables to make baby food can help you save on food costs, provide better nutrients, and give you more control of the foods texture during the transition to solids. Store bought food often has lower nutrient valued due to the sanitation and preservation processes used.

Understanding the Benefits of Growing Your Garden

You may feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when you see the lush, thriving garden you’ve planted. Gardening can give you a unique feeling that you can almost imagine the gardening muses hailing you with praises and repeatedly patting your back for a job well done. Aside from this mental boost, growing your garden has tangible benefits, especially at home.

Fresh Produce Tastes Good

Fresh vegetables and fruits taste better. The crops you find in the market are often harvested before they reach their peak ripeness naturally.

Most of the produce bought at the grocery continues to ripen after being picked, which causes a less vibrant flavor. However, in homegrown gardens, you can pick your vegetables or fruits when fully ripened on the plant, making them much tastier and of better quality.

You Can Be Sure It's Clean

The produce you find in the grocery may have gone through many processes before it reaches the vegetable or fruit stand. You don’t know its conditions, where or how long it is stored, and whether it’s sanitary. On the contrary, you can be sure of what you eat with a homegrown garden.

Gain Self-Sufficiency

Gaining knowledge about gardening and becoming self-sufficient is exciting. Living off the land can help you become self-sufficient by not relying on other systems to provide a food source. Don’t have land? You can maximize your growing space with containers and indoor growing too.

Become a Better Person

Gardening can improve your mental and physical health. The need to constantly monitor your garden, water it, and pull out any weeds that may start to grow is a routine that can develop a sense of external responsibility and encourage regular movement.

Impact the Environmenbt

You’ll be surprised that a growing number of studies show that maintaining a garden can help reduce carbon emissions, especially in the city. If people start to plant gardens in their free space within urban areas, it can have a great impact on the environment.

Urban Gardening Tips – Create Your Garden Anywhere

City life can be hectic, stressful, and cramped. Many apartments in metro areas have little to no space for a lush garden patch. However, if there’s a will, there’s a way.

• Find the Sun: The sun radiates solar energy from millions of miles away, but you’ll need to know where that radiation hits your home. Your apartment must have a share of that long-distance light and heat. You can buy water and soil, but not sunlight. Ensuring you have enough ample sunlight in your flat is crucial.
• Create Space: Apartments may be cramped, and devoting space for gardening may be out of the question. If this is your problem, there’s a solution. You can always choose to use your balcony or patio for your garden. Want to keep it indoors, try using boxes that can be placed near your window where sunlight is present. Rearrange your furniture to create space in your apartment and a good place for a small garden. In these scenarios, supplemental grow lights may be beneficial.
• Choose the Right Plants: You can’t plant a tree in your apartment, though, as Betty Smith shared, a tree does grow in Brooklyn. You should choose plants that can grow fully without occupying too much space in your confined area. Herbs can be an excellent option. Also, salad greens, peppers, and the popular tomato are good choices for container growing.
• Mind the Drain: You’ll be watering your plants regularly and may need to drain the excess liquid from the plant boxes in your apartment. Create pathways for the water to drain, or use tubes that can stick into the drain holes of your pots or boxes to prevent water spillage in your home.

Where the budget is concerned, you may need to factor in the prices of plant boxes, soil, seeds, and equipment to keep your plants healthy and growing. The most costly part of starting a container garden is the containers and soil. Whether the most important factor for you is looks or cost, you can make a garden work for you. Save money by reusing household containers like plastic totes or milk jugs.

Microgreens and Sprouts - The Perfect Way to Kickstart Your Indoor Garden

Country Gardening Tips

What more can one say? If you’re in the country, and there lies in front of you a swatch of land ready for cultivation, start a farm! Though it may be back-breaking to suddenly till an acre-wide farmland, you have more space to design and develop your garden.

If you have ample space in your lawn or backyard, take your time designing your garden. You’ll find it refreshing and engaging, which is why many people love planting. Gardening is a skill you can learn; once you’ve learned its secrets, you’re in for a satisfying way of life.

Author Bio

Casey Bloom, Freelance Writer

Casey Bloom’s field of studies is concentrated in language and literature. Before her stint as a writer, she was an advertising creative. She is a vegan advocate who believes in the healing power of CBD. Casey aspires to become a mother who raises a naturally healthy family. You can find her insights at Motherhood Community. Apart from her love for nature and wellness, Casey also believes that veganism has improved her well-being. She has recently taken an interest in what happens inside the body and how our bodies change. Casey writes for W-Radiology regularly.