Growing fruits and vegetables seems overwhelming to most people, but it’s actually much simpler than it sounds. Also, you don’t have to trade in your suburban or urban lifestyle in the name of self-sufficiency or savings. All you need is a few square metres of the great outdoors, a water source, and a little time.
Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables is one of the most important things you and your family can do to stay healthy. When they’re growing in your backyard, you won’t be able to resist them, and their vitamin content will be at their highest levels as you bite into them straight from the garden.
Your grocery bill will shrink as you begin to stock your pantry with fresh produce from your backyard. If you buy heirloom, non-hybrid species, you can save the seeds from the best producers, dry them and use them next year. If you learn to dry, can or otherwise preserve your summer or fall harvest, you’ll be able to feed yourself even when the growing season is over.
Backyard gardening helps the planet in many ways. If you grow your food organically, without pesticides and herbicides, you’ll spare the earth the burden of unnecessary air and water pollution, for example. You’ll also reduce the use of fossil fuels and the resulting pollution that comes from the transport of fresh produce from all over the world (in planes and refrigerated trucks) to your supermarket.
Planting, weeding, watering and harvesting add purposeful physical activity to your day. If you have kids, they can join in, too. Be sure to lift heavy objects properly, and to stretch your tight muscles before and after strenuous activity. Gardening is also a way to relax, de-stress, centre your mind and get fresh air and sunshine.
Fresh food is the best food! How long has the food on your supermarket shelf been there? How long did it travel from the farm to your table? Comparing the flavour of a homegrown tomato with the taste of a store-bought one is like comparing apples to wallpaper paste. If it tastes better, you’ll be more likely to eat the healthy, fresh produce that you know your body needs.
Watching a seed blossom under your care to put food on your family’s plates is gratifying. Growing your own food is one of the most purposeful and important things a human can do—it’s work that directly helps you thrive, nourish your family and maintain your health. Caring for your plants and waiting as they blossom and “fruit” before your eyes is an amazing sense of accomplishment.
Even if you don’t have a big backyard—or any yard for that matter—you can still grow food. Consider container gardening if you have a sunny balcony or patio or an indoor herb garden on a windowsill. You’ll be amazed at how many tomatoes or peppers can grow out of one pot.
Whatever your motivation for breaking ground on your own backyard garden, chances are good that you’ll take pleasure in this new healthy hobby, and that your wallet, the environment, your body and your taste buds will thank you.
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