Trust me on this one, having a garden (a micro or huge garden) is very beneficial to you. I hope to convince you why you need a garden and it doesn’t matter how small either.
Since buying my house two years ago, I’ve started a decent size garden in my backyard. Strategically thought where I would get the most sunlight and etched out a rectangular garden space with a shovel.
After all, it was one thing I’ve wanted since I was young. As I helped my Grandpa and Grandma with their 2-acre farm. It was fun helping them. This stuck with me and resonated with me, through decades. My wife and I had been renting houses since we’ve been married for 14 years. I waited patiently, then impatiently. Wanting to buy a house to have our own garden and not to be a renter anymore.
Why Size Doesn’t Matter In Gardens
My mistake was waiting until I had a real house of my own, to start a garden. Despite the pulling…
Why is this?
Because I thought you needed a large dedicated space in which to have a garden.
Not the case at all. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
No matter where you live you can grow something. In a window sill, in front, back, or side of your house or apartment, along with the driveway, a vacant lot, or even a church community garden.
Life thrives everywhere. Even planting a fruit tree is considered a garden.
Anything that will grow and produce some edible fruit, nut, vegetable, or herb is a garden, no matter how small. Just keep that in mind.
No Green Thumb? Don’t Worry!
Everyone can grow something, no matter if you have an instinctive green thumb. Granted some things are harder to grow than others. Just research easy vegetables or easy herbs to grow. Plenty of flora out there that grows easily. Often times herbs get called weeds because they grow so easily in any type of soil.
Gardening and caring for plants is a skill and any skill can be learned. So, no…your not hopeless if you can’t keep anything alive. Just keep trying and you will improve. I’m improving every year myself as does every gardener. It’s helpful to keep notes, to lockdown successes.
Most home centers sell fully formed plants in which to plant and is a great way to start for all you with trouble growing from seeds.
My Other Gardening Articles You Should Check Out
What Is Back To Eden Gardening – This is a revolutionary way of having a garden, it is the method I use. This method makes gardening easier and more productive year after year. You gotta check it out.
Best Garden Hose Water Filters – I review garden hose filters if you live in a city. This can help keep your plants healthier.
Best Garden Soil Amendments – Soil amendments that will get your garden just flourishing.
Benefits On Top Of Benefits Having A Garden
Having a garden pays so many dividends, some obvious and others not so much. But you will benefit tremendously if you grow just herbs in your windowsill or a large plot growing a variety of vegetables. Having a garden improves you and also improves
Make no mistake, there is work involved in any garden but the pros outweigh the cons.
Health
The number one benefit is your health. Captain obvious right? Yeah…but it needs to be stated anyway.
As you control what you grow and what soil you grow in. No guessing if pesticides were sprayed on it or if what you planted is GMO. You are in the wheelhouse deciding these things instead of someone wanting to make as much money and cutting corners to do it.
No doctor in the world is going to tell you to eat fewer vegetables or herbs, within moderate levels, of course. You can overdo just about anything, even water.
On top of the nutritional benefits, you will be getting exercise, this depends on the size of your garden. The bigger the garden the more exercise. The smaller the garden the less exercise. Walking, bending, pulling, hauling, digging, planting, picking all requires some form of body movement and movement is good.
Starting a garden can add years to your life and increase the quality of life, in those years.
Plants grown in your garden will have signifacantly higher nutritional value than mass grown farms that produce plants grown for grocery store. This can easily be seen in the taste and smell compared to store bought produce.
You will also control the that no chemicals or pesticides are used on your garden. This is another way that having a garden is much more healthier in the long run vs store bought produce.
Lower The Old Grocery Bill
The rising cost of food, especially organically grown produce just continues to climb and climb. Making growing your own vegetables more and more feasible. Buying a pack of seeds you can produce a mountain of produce. Also you can potentially collect your own seeds and avoid buying seeds at all.
It’s A Stress Killer
You will get lost working and caring about your garden. The stress will slowly be stripe away from you, leaving you feeling better. Gardening will relieve stress as you are caring about something other than yourself. Which is a good thing. Putting energies into something for its improvement does wonders for your stress level. As well as being outside.
Bonding Family Time
If you have a spouse and/or children gardening has a great bonding aspect to it. It’s a great family healthy activity and will even
As far as kids are considered it’s something too great to pass down to them.
Connecting With Nature
Most of us have been shut off to nature. Spending far too much time indoors and not enough time outside. Having a garden is that excuse for you to get beneath the sun and enjoy the fresh air and to be inundated with various scents.
Getting lost in gardening is connecting with nature, it can be just as beneficial to your spirit as a long hike in nature.
Helping The Environment
You growing a garden has tremendous benefits to you and your environment.
Composting your kitchen scraps. Instead of throwing your vegetables and fruit scraps into the garbage, which will just help to fill the local landfill. You can reap the benefits of these scraps by composting. Your garden will love you for it too. I would recommend you get a book on composting or watch some Youtube videos (see below). It’s amazing how much vegetable and fruit waste gets thrown into the trash bin.
Helping bees – Bees have been having a hard time of late, with massive die-offs, do your part to help. The local bees will reap the benefits of you planting a variety of herbs and vegetables. Allow some of the herbs to flower, as some of the advice says to pluck the flowers to allow for greater flavor.
Some Tips On Gardening
While there are a plethora of great YouTubers out there, I am really pulled to this guy. He is so passionate about anything gardening it’s contagious. His name is John Kohler, you can find his Youtube channel below. Subscribe to the video channel and reap the rewards.
Try not to use man-made fertilizers or pesticides. If you are having problems try to research a natural way or organic method, after all, you’re going to be eating what you grow.
Don’t be afraid to try new things.
Happy Gardening!
Would love to hear any tips on gardening or comments or questions.
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