7 Amazing Benefits of Growing a Vegetable Garden

A vegetable garden is your best friend in turning your life around and focusing on a healthy lifestyle. Nothing can beat fresh produce, directly from your garden to the table. Grocery stores usually have produce that has been on display for a long time. Produce usually needs a couple of days to arrive from the farm too. When you combine these aspects, you get fruits and vegetables that are far from fresh, and with much fewer vitamins and lower quality. Growing your vegetable garden has a lot of benefits, so read on to see what they are.

Healthy Fresh Food

When you have your own garden, you have a constant stream of healthy and fresh produce. Small backyard gardens don’t usually need pesticides and other chemicals to grow. This makes your vegetables many times healthier than the store-bought ones. You are in full control of your garden – from the types of seeds, you use to harvesting times. When you are controlling every step of the process, it’s much easier to choose healthier, and even organic options for your garden. Organic gardens and products are not only good for you and your family, but for the environment as well.

Everyone is Included

Growing your own garden gives a chance to your family to connect with a new activity. Gardening as a family is a fun way to help your whole family eat more healthy foods. If your kids are involved in the whole gardening process, they will be more likely to eat vegetables. This makes mealtimes easier and more fun. If possible, try to involve your kids in the meal preparation too. They will be happy to help and enjoy their food even more. Gardening is a wonderful way to instil healthy habits for the future.

Physical Activity

We all need more physical activity in our lives. Your personal garden can be a big source of physical activity for you and your family. While you are outside working in the garden, you are getting fresh air, sunshine and vitamin D, and physical activity. Digging, planting, watering and other gardening activities can be great for your body and for your mind. If you have never done any gardening, get acquainted with safe gardening practices so you don’t injure yourself. When your kids are helping, make them do activities that are age-safe and where they can’t hurt themselves.

Relaxation Time

Have you ever heard of Zen gardens? They are gardens that give your mind peace and relaxation. This translates to any gardening activity you do. Besides the physical benefits of gardening, you will also be given time to relax and de-stress your mind. Gardening is a very therapeutic activity, and it also gives you a sense of accomplishment when the produce is successful. If you are looking for a way to de-stress, gardening is perfect for you.

More Savings

When you are growing your own food, you will spend less money in the grocery store. For the same amount of money you spend at the store, you can grow those produce multiple times more. Combined with health benefits, it’s really a good decision to start your own garden. Vegetables should be most of your meals, meaning you will spend far less money on them in the market. Organic vegetables also have a higher price, so if you are growing your own organic garden, the savings are even higher.

Different Size Options

It’s easy to think you will need a lot of space to make your own garden. But it doesn’t have to be the case always. It primarily depends on the types of products you are planning to grow. If you are low in space, vertical hydroponic farming is a good option for you. They have a low production cost and yield a lot of produce in a very small area. Raised beds are also a great solution if you want to separate your produce garden from the rest of the yard.

Less Food Waste

The amounts of food thrown out every day are very high – and that is only the food thrown out by households. Food is often seen as a commodity, and it’s easily accessible. That’s one of the reasons it’s taken for granted. When you have your own garden, you are aware of every step needed to get the produce from the garden to the table. You have more appreciation, and it’s less likely you will throw out food. A compost pile is also a good solution, as you can make your own fertilizer and further your garden sustainability.

Taking care of your garden requires hard work and dedication. You can encounter difficulties, especially if you are new to this. But if you are devoted, you will reap the benefits of your garden soon enough. Start from the vegetables you use the most and expand from there. Remember, any small space can be used for a produce garden.