5 Reasons to Grow Your Own Food (and why it’s not too late to begin now!)
This is a guest post.
With the end of summer approaching, many people think that they have missed the opportunity to grow some of their own food. Actually, this is the perfect time if you’re just starting out because it’s unlikely that you’ll get too ambitious and find the experience too time-consuming or physically hard.
There are many varieties of vegetables that can be grown in small, quickly prepared raised beds. Spinach, broccoli, carrots, arugula and artichokes all do well when planted late in the season. And indoor windowsill gardens provide basil, parsley and many other herbs; giving soups and roasts wonderful flavors that can also help reduce the emotional impact of a cold and gray of winter.
Keeping a small vegetable garden or fruit orchard was once very common. My grandparent’s yard still contains apple, pear and plum trees and a vegetable plot that produces well into autumn.
With the modernization of the 20th Century also came a decline in the family garden and the ensuing rise of the commercial food industry brought the degradation of quality in the flavor and nutrition of the food we consume. In recent years however, the increasing environmental consciousness is influencing a new interest in the small produce plot.
Here are 5 reasons why you might consider starting your own kitchen garden.
- Freshness
Fruit and vegetables taste better and are healthier if eaten as soon as possible after picking. Most fruit you buy from the store is picked well before it is properly ripe (to extend the shelf life) and this has a negative impact on flavor and the nutritional density. Growing your own provides the taste of the freshest possible produce as well as giving you more nourishment.
- Quality
Commercially grown crops are often selected for their high yields, uniform appearance and long shelf lives rather than for quality and taste. When you grow your own, you can concentrate on the quality rather than the economics.
- Price
Much of the supermarket produce is overpriced because of the cost of transporting it from distant commercial farms. Growing your own from seed is inexpensive and even growing from small plants you buy as starters is likely to provide you better food at a lower cost. With many plants, you can use the seed from one growing season to provide plants for the next – a self sustaining cycle that will cost you only time and effort to keep going.
- Origin
Many people have reasonable concerns about how their food is produced; with chemical pesticides, fungicides and Genetically Modified seeds a particular worry. With your own vegetable patch, you know exactly where your food is from and how it was grown.
- Variety
There are literally thousands of different varieties of fruit and vegetables, but most grocery stores tend to concentrate on only the most profitable to sell. This means that the consumer’s choice is often limited to a few select varieties of apple, for example, rather than the hundreds of traditional kinds that exist. Growing your own lets you pick the varieties you like the most, and experiment to find new ones you’ll rarely find in the store.
And one additional benefit; gardening is a natural stress reducer.
If your lifestyle is busy with work and family commitments, you might not think you have the time to devote to this new pursuit.
But starting small with a few herb plants on your windowsill, or even a single tomato plant, will give you an opportunity to detach yourself from the stressors of the modern lifestyle and experience the rewards of harvesting your own high-quality food.
Written by Patrick Welch
Patrick is a Peak Health Coach who provides nutrition, exercise and stress control programs to his clients with both in-person sessions and remote coaching online.
More information can be found at www.allproactive.com.
Article photo by adactio
3 Responses to “5 Reasons to Grow Your Own Food (and why it’s not too late to begin now!)”
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Thanks for writing this Patrick!
Some interesting ideas and facts about vegetables and growing them that I didn’t know or think about.
-Andrew
Ooh I couldn’t agree more! I’ve been gardening since 2007 and I love growing my own food. It’s just something you can replace by buying it.
Thanks for comment Nathalie!
I used to live in a house where the former owners had planted fruit trees and cleared a large garden area. The produce was fantastic and every fall I looked forward to fresh baked apple crisp!
I don’t know that I really knew what a brussel sprout or apple actually tasted like before that.
Currently, I’m living in a home without the yard, but I’m learning the benefits of container gardening and cooking with freshly grown herbs.
Thanks again – Patrick