Gardening
is a great way to add more fresh produce into your life and it provides more
health benefits than you probably realize. Physically, gardening is a great way
to get some exercise, fresh air, and vitamin D from sunshine. I personally love
the way it feels to have my hands in the soil, it’s relaxing, therapeutic, and
I feel connected to nature. It’s my way of zoning out, decompressing, letting
go of stress. I find it satisfying and rewarding to plant a seed, water it, nurture
it, and watch it grow and thrive every day. I feel proud when I can share my
bountiful harvest with people in my life. Your gardening experience can be
tailored to your lifestyle and your skill level because having a green thumb
isn’t a prerequisite. Although gardening
is a labor of love and you can create an impressive backyard design, it isn’t
necessary invest a large amount of money, time, or space to reap the benefits
from growing your own fruits and vegetables.
You
actually save money and time by omitting the necessity to run to the store to
buy vegetables or salad to go with every meal. In fact, not only are homegrown
vegetables a cost effective choice, but also you have control over the quality
of your produce. If you want to maintain a strictly organic lifestyle, you have
the power to ensure that your garden is chemical and pesticide free, plus you
know that everything you eat has been handled safely from the first sprout to
delicious harvest. If you don’t want to wait for mature produce to ripen from
the whole seed sprouting process, you can always use the time saving method of
planting starters.
If you live in an apartment or don’t
have a large backyard, please don’t let that be a deterrent. There are so many
creative container garden ideas that take up very little space. I have even
seen amazing examples on Pinterest of herb gardens being grown in a hanging
shoe rack! Kitchen counter tomato plants or windowsill gardens are also a great
option for those of us that have little or no outdoors space. There is just
nothing quite as sweet as tasting your own fresh, homegrown, produce. I dream
all winter about getting to pick and eat cherry tomatoes right off the vine,
warmed by the sun, just popping them in my mouth without worry because I know
they are clean and pesticide free.
Besides being a healthy lifestyle
choice, having a garden is a way to add sustainability into our world. The
earth is designed to grow vegetation and that lifecycle of a garden helps to
enrich the soil and put clean oxygen into the air. Gardening has been apart of
our culture since people stopped roaming as nomads and civilizations settled. During
World War 1 and 2, American’s used to show their support for the troops by
planting a “Victory Garden”. This was not only a symbolic gesture, but also a
way for them to get valuable nutrition in a time when fresh produce was hard to
come by.
Many
people have lost sight of where the food they eat comes from. I try whenever
possible to teach young people about the benefits of growing their own food,
and help them learn the skills necessary to maintain a simple garden. I believe that engaging children in the growing
process with hands-on experiences and through garden based nutrition programs is
going a monumental step towards reversing the obesity epidemic in America. Like I said, gardening provides more health
benefits than you probably realize and a positive relationship with healthy
food is the most important.
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