7 February 2019 - Posted by The Sisterhood of Sustainability
Fresh, organic produce at your doorstep! The benefits of organic gardening in your backyard are positively overwhelming! Here’s a few great reasons why should make a little space in your backyard and start growing fresh, beautiful produce immediately: Health benefits and saving money are only the beginning!
HEALTH BENEFITS
While it’s no surprise that eating fruit and vegetables is good for you, gardening comes with additional health benefits such as additional exercise and stress relief and if you think gardening can’t be considered a workout, maybe you haven’t tried moving a large pile of compost by hand. You will also be avoiding chemicals and pesticides used on commercially grown produce and will know exactly what is going into your soil and onto your plants. Food is also a great preventative medicine, so growing your own nutrient dense produce will keep you in excellent health.
FOOD SOVEREIGNTY
When you grow your own food, you know exactly how it was grown and can harvest and enjoy at your leisure without having to drive anywhere or rely on anyone else. The more food grown locally, the more resilient the community. There’s also nothing better than picking a handful of fresh herbs to toss into a salad or eating produce that is so fresh and in season.
PLEASURE
With the warm sun beating down on your back, bees buzzing and birds chirping, how could you not enjoy your time in the garden. You have the freedom to eat delicious fruits straight from the ground and enjoy the perfume of an array of wildflowers. There’s also plenty of research to support the mental health benefits from spending time in the garden.
ENVIRONMENT
While there’s lots of environmental issues that may seem out of your control and too big to deal with, you can make a huge difference just by tending your own veggie patch. It’s the perfect way to think globally and act locally. You are reducing food miles, avoiding toxic chemicals contaminating our land and waters and reducing reliance on industrialised agriculture.
SAVING MONEY
While growing your own food takes a lot more time and effort than just popping to the shops to gran what you need, you’ll reduce grocery costs by more than 60%! You can also regulate how much you use by picking just what you need and avoiding excessive food waste. You’ll also have the convenience of being able to compost all your food scraps and recycle them back into your garden when they’re decomposed!
What are your favourite benefits of organic gardening? Do you have any others to add to this list?