11 Reasons Why You Should Grow Your Own Garden

There are many reasons why you should grow your garden, especially if you fancy eating fresh food. Consequently, it is not hard, and some vegetables are easy to grow with little effort. Before you start, talk to other gardeners near you to understand which plants do well in your area to save you on time and frustrations. Here are 11 reasons why you should grow your own garden.

Add Flair to Your Garden

One of the reasons why you should grow your own garden is to add some flair to it. You can enhance it by adding some color. A garden should be colorful, bold, and appealing to anyone who looks at it. A few plants that will do the trick include strawberries, red and yellow bell peppers, radishes, lettuce, and herbs like white sage and red mustard. Strawberries need more attention and may take some time to grow. However, once they blossom, they are appealing and juicy, begging you to eat them. </p

For your garden to flourish, take care of it by watering often and using fertilizer from time to time. Use organic mulch, which helps retain moisture in the soil and suppresses weeds. Garden wood chips are ideal for mulching, as they increase nutrients in the soil and come in various colors like deep red and rich mahogany brown, adding flair to your garden.

Enjoy the Quiet Bliss

A garden can be a good place for you to enjoy some quiet time away from everyone else. You can either have a bench or seat somewhere near the garden where you can just unwind. When creating your own garden, consider having a shed also. The shed can be your space where you get to work, read a book, or practice a hobby without the disturbance of other family members. You can also make this your personal project where you get to enjoy quiet time by yourself working on the garden.

Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly

Another reason why you should grow your own garden is to make your home eco-friendly. Choose eco-friendly materials that are locally manufactured to reduce your carbon footprint. Instead of using plastic pots, biodegradable planters such as egg cartons and pots are made from coconut husks. The same goes for gardening accessories like a watering can; use metallic rather than plastic. If you can store rainwater and use it to water the plants, that is much better. It has less calcium and chlorine, which is healthier for them.

Water recycling is also a way of making your garden eco-friendlier. If you plan to recycle greywater from the washing machine, the general rule is to avoid or minimize bleach, not to kill the plants, and apply the water directly into the soil. Ideally, greywater should not be used on plants you plan on eating or seedlings and house plants. Heavy rainfall and flooding can affect your garden, causing the roots to suffocate and die. You, therefore, need a plan to drain any excess water from the garden by digging furrows and ditches. While it is impossible to prevent rain, you can hire a water restoration service company to help you drain any water in your garden and save your plants.

Organize Your Garage to Hold Gardening Supplies for Convenience

The garage is the most convenient place you can store your gardening tools and supplies. However, you will need to organize them properly to retrieve them and keep the garage neat easily. Start by setting aside space for gardening tools by removing anything you do not need. Rent a dumpster from a trash dumpster rental company and throw them there. You will need a cabinet or two plus some wall space solely for gardening tools. This becomes easier when looking for equipment because you know where to find it. Since your garage’s center space will be occupied by the car, take advantage of the walls and hang tools vertically.

Install hooks, shelves, and bins to the wall panel and use them as storage spaces for equipment. There are items like a rake or shovel that you only use occasionally; consider getting a ceiling rack to store them there. A ceiling rack goes about four to six inches above your garage door, which means you can use the wall for other tools. Categorize your tools and equipment according to purpose. Small hand tools can go in our basket and be stored in the cabinet, while seeds can go into another bucket. Once you have organized your tools, the next task is maintaining that tidiness. You may come from the garden feeling tired and just throw everything in a bucket. Whenever that happens, make a mental note to go back and rearrange.

Other Family Members Can Help at Any Time

Another reason why you should grow your own garden is that you can get help from other family members. Start by involving them in your gardening project. This is a good way for you to spend some quality time together and bond. Also, there is some excitement in watching the seeds you planted together to grow. Involving them in the gardening project creates a sense of responsibility where each feels it their duty to take care of the garden.

Instead of family members being stuck in the house watching TV or on their phones, gardening allows them to get out of the house and be active. This can also be a learning opportunity for the kids and serve as home entertainment for the elderly loved ones in your life. Your kids can grow up knowing how to take care of the environment, and your parent can engage in your peaceful hobby. Another fun way is that you can involve the family is by giving each member a type of plant to take care of. Of course, for the kids, you will guide them, but let them feel like they have choices to feel more responsible for the garden.

Obtain More Vitamin D

With a 9-5 job, which most people spend in front of a computer, it has become hard for some to spend time outside. However, there are several benefits that we all can enjoy from getting some sunshine. Exposure to the sun through gardening is a great way to absorb vitamin D, which is why you should grow your own garden. Vitamin D helps in the protection and rejuvenation of the skin and maintaining healthy teeth and bones. Additionally, it enhances the immune system of your skin, preventing premature aging. Imagine not spending money on anti-aging facial treatment, rather simply doing gardening. It also reduces the risk of conditions like breast and bladder cancer and multiple sclerosis.

Low levels of vitamin D can lead to psoriasis flares, type II diabetes, and dementia. Note that long exposure to the sun has harmful effects, so carry a hat with you to the garden and wear sunglasses. A lot of sunscreens can prevent your skin from absorbing vitamin D. It is, therefore, best to work on your garden before 10 AM and after 4 PM. The next time you are gardening, think of the many ways you are boosting your health.

Obtain Moderate Exercise

Looking for another reason why you should grow your own garden? Well, gardening is also a form of exercise. Therefore, buy sports clothing online that you can wear when you garden. Getting involved in gardening has many advantages, like improving cardiac health, decreasing heart rate, strengthening the immune system, and improving general body strength and flexibility. Cutting grass and raking is moderate exercise and less strenuous, where you can burn about 300 calories per hour.

On the other hand, chopping wood, digging and shoveling, falls under vigorous exercise. In short, you are putting major muscles in your body to work. Those exercises can help offset childhood obesity and weight gain related to aging, making gardening an activity people of all ages can benefit from. Also, people who garden often are likely to get seven hours of undisrupted sleep. For safety and comfort plus the wellbeing of your back and knees, some tips to practice include:

• Use a cushion when on your knees and keep your back straight. When you get tired, stand and stretch for a few minutes rather than sitting on your knees.
• Get a light shovel or spade with a long handle, and do not overload it when carrying soil.
• As you pick tools, bend at the knee and hips.

Relieve Stress

Gardening itself is a physical activity that helps reduce stress. Natural spaces also have a way of calming people down and reducing anxiety. That is why you should grow your own garden. To have a quiet place where you can relax and meditate. There are a lot of mental benefits associated with having a garden. In today’s world, most people spend a lot of time staring at a screen and being bombarded by all information types. All this can lead to mental fatigue, burnout, and overwhelm. Taking some time off to either work on your garden or just relax can significantly improve your mood and restore your energy levels. Also, exposure to sunlight can lift your spirits as you take in the fresh air.

Put Healthy Food on the Table

Having fresh food from the garden is another reason why you should grow your own garden. You are eating food straight from your garden, and so the chances of contamination are low. You also get to enjoy vegetables in season and enjoy flavors and nutrients when they are at their peak. Produce from your garden is fresh, which means there is no need for additives to enhance flavors. You cannot compare the texture and flavor of produce from the grocery store to your garden’s produce. Fresh food is generally sweeter.

Since you are in charge of your garden, you control what chemical you will use for your plants. You can even opt for organic remedies to deal with pests in your gardens rather than spraying pesticides. Call a residential pest control company and discuss which options you can opt to get rid of the pests. Growing your own garden not only comes with the advantage of healthy food, but you can also grow a variety of vegetables.

Add Flowers and Other Small Plants to Your Garden

This is your garden, and you can add anything you want. Other than vegetables, add some flowers and small plants to the garden. Not only do they make your garden attractive, but they act as natural air conditioning. Flowers tend to attract insects that can be beneficial to your garden. Take some flowers and small plants and plant them around the perimeter of your garden. Add some among your vegetables but ensure that you space them out. Choose flowers that will bloom at the same time as your vegetables. If scheduling is a challenge, get flowers that continuously bloom. The small plants and flowers you choose should not compete with your vegetables for the sun, so use low-growing flowers. However, a crop like lettuce can use some shade during summer.

Saves You Money at the Grocery Store

Another reason why you should grow your own garden is to save money. You cannot compare the amount of money you will use to grow a garden with what you spend in the grocery store. The initial cost of growing a garden can be high, but you will be spending very little on it once your garden has grown. Additionally, your garden has enough products, so you will take what is enough for everyone rather than being guided by a budget. Having a garden comes with food security too. You have direct access to food, and you can harvest and preserve it for the future.

As you start your garden, pick a spot that receives a minimum of six hours of daytime light. Elevate the garden bed a little and use uncontaminated soil. Start with a few plants of what you like eating and diversify as your garden grows. Consider the many reasons as to why you should grow your own garden, including feeling good. This simple effort can be rewarding and fulfilling where you get to see your efforts producing results.