Growing your own vegetables may seem overwhelming, initially. But it’s actually much simpler than it
sounds. Hey there viewers and welcome back to another Bestie video. If you have given
up on growing your own vegetables owing to lack of time or space, it’s time you
reconsidered. This is because the benefits stem far beyond saving a few dollars on groceries.
It’s also great for the environment as it saves food miles, plastic packaging and food waste.
In today’s video, we will tell you reasons why you should grow your own food. From
avoiding nasty chemicals, less food waste, more vegetable varieties, increased food
security to helping the environment and more, watch till the end to learn about all of them.
More Nutritious Food: As soon as a fruit or vegetable is picked, it begins to lose some
of its vitamins and nutrients. Produce loses moisture and ripeness, both of which contribute
to a loss of nutrients, as it travels from the farm to your local grocery store. In addition,
produce is often picked prematurely and then artificially ripened to improve shelf life.
This is a necessity since the average piece of produce has traveled hundreds
of miles to where it is finally sold, this can be a big loss.
Growing your own food can increase the variety of the foods that you eat.
Mass-market farmers today only grow items that fit a certain standard for travel and appearance.
Customers want to see a tomato that is a certain size and redness,
all other varieties be damned. Well, there are over 700 varieties of tomatoes, all with different
taste and nutrition profiles. With your own garden, you can experience a wider range of foods.
Growing your food at home means you can pick what you need,
as you need it. Your food has all the nutrients it was designed to.
And that fresh food that you picked at perfect ripeness tastes better too.
What exotic vegetables would you like to grow in your garden and why?
Tell us quickly down below in the comments section!
No Nasty Chemicals: Growing your own produce means you have full control of what is added to it. You
can avoid harsh fertilizers in the soil and use pest control methods that are completely natural
without chemicals in them. This is the same thing you get from buying organic produce. But when you
grow it on your own, you have the convenience factor and save money at the same time.
Less chemicals is always a good thing when you start feeding your family more fruits and veggies.
Eliminates Food Safety Worries: It is difficult not to worry about food safety when foods like
spinach, peanut butter, and tomatoes are regularly recalled for safety reasons.
Growing your own food will eliminate worries about pesticides used in the growing process
or contamination that can occur anytime from the planting to distribution process.
Less Food Waste: Picking your food as you need it is a great way of only using what you need.
Surplus produce in shops often gets wasted if it isn't bought before it spoils.
Keeping it in the ground for longer means it stays fresher.
Even if you’re faced with a huge harvest of vegetables that you know you’re unlikely to use,
you can give it away to people who need it. Or trade them for whatever other people are
growing. You could even create a neighbourhood collective where you
all decide to grow different crops and share all your bounty when it’s ready.
Another plus is not forcing your food to go through unreasonable beauty standards.
If your homegrown potatoes have knobbly bits or our zucchinis are too big, you don’t care.
You Save Money: When you have a full, healthy garden, you will find yourself
spending less money at the grocery store. When you have all the ingredients you need
for your favorite salad, or when you can harvest carrots to roast from your own backyard, you won’t
need to buy as much when you do your weekly shopping. Especially when organic gardening,
the cost of a packet of seeds is far less than the organic veggies and fruits at the store.
Beyond the initial crop, you can learn to dry, can,
and preserve your produce to keep feeding your family from your own garden long
after the growing season is over. This can extend your savings in the long term, too.
You Know Exactly What You’re Eating: Understanding where our food comes from gives us a better sense
of appreciation for what goes into producing the things we eat by growing our own. An appreciation
that we’ve perhaps lost over the past few decades since food has become so freely abundant.
Plus, you’ll know exactly what you’re eating. And if you grow organically,
you’ll know without a shadow of a doubt, that your food is chemical and pesticide free.
If you have children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces and other little people in your life, get
them involved in growing food from seed too. It will help them better understand that food doesn’t
just appear on supermarket shelves and who knows, they could be the slow food farmers of the future.
You Get Physical Activity: When you take the time to prepare, plant, weed, water,
and harvest your own garden, you are getting sunshine, fresh air,
and physical activity. The exercise can help you stay in shape, but also relax and de-stress.
Because your garden needs to be tended, you are guaranteed to have some active time each week
outside, either on your own or with your family. Be sure to practice safe heavy lifting practices,
use sunscreen, and drink plenty of water while outside. Also invest in organic soil that will
not only be good for your plants, but will also be safe for your whole family to handle.
You Can Grow More Varieties: Growing quality transplants from your nursery or starting your
own seedlings under lights allows you to select from so many different varieties.
These offer greater flavor and texture than what is available in the grocery stores.
You can choose from hundreds of varieties based on flavor, shape, and color. When you grow your own,
you can select varieties that are adapted to your growing area or mature in a short period.
You will Eat In-Season Vegetables: Tending to your garden and growing your own food will teach you
to eat in season when flavors and nutrients are at peak. When you have a big harvest,
you tend to eat more vegetables and think of creative ways to prepare them so nothing goes
to waste. Since they are harvested fresh, the natural flavors of the vegetables shine
and do not need additional oils, salt, or other additives to make them taste good.
Your Food Security Increases: Food security is achieved when all people at all times have
access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.
Growing your own food garden contributes to your food security by providing direct
access to food that can be harvested, prepared and fed to your family daily
during the growing season. If you learn how to preserve your harvest,
you will be able to stock your Pantry and feed your family even when the growing season is over.
You Can Prepare Well Balanced Meals: Thanks to the nutritious fresh produce
and the convenience of having them at home, you can also use them to prepare healthier,
more balanced meals. This is an excellent health benefit as your family might be struggling with
malnutrition without even realizing it. Sure, you might be eating enough food, but not the
right foods. In the United States, more than one third of the population is obese, but less than
1 in 10 eat enough fruits and vegetables. Having fruits and vegetables right in your own backyard
encourages you to prepare more of these balanced meals for the good of your family’s health.
We understand that you cannot eat a balanced diet all the time and
there are times when you just have to eat a heavy meal. And even if you do,
you should avoid doing certain things after that for better health. To know what they are,
watch this video titled “6 Things You Should Never Do After Consuming A Big Meal”
Now, back to Health Benefits Of Growing Your Own Food
You Connect With Nature: Vegetable gardening is a wonderful hobby,
and you can use the food you grow as a way to connect with nature. You can start small with a
windowsill planter of lavender or a hydroponic garden for your kitchen. You can also roll up
your sleeves and get to work with DIY raised beds and everything you need to for an outdoor space.
Believe it or not, tending plants in your garden has its own set of health benefits.
Gardening gives you a chance to enjoy fresh air, get some safe sun exposure,
relax and destress, and even improve your immune system.
Instead of going inside and watching television, enjoy a late summer evening in your garden.
You Help The Environment: Our current industrial food system is having terrible impacts on the
environment. These massive farms generate huge amounts of food waste due to spoilage,
utilize pesticides and herbicides that damage wildlife, and strip soil of their best nutrients.
Because large farms are restricted on the types of products they can grow,
they can’t follow the general rules of permaculture and crop rotation to keep
the soil healthy and productive. This leads to a greater use of fertilizers, which are sprayed into
the air and have unknown long-term impacts on watersheds, wildlife, and human health.
Maintaining your own organic, pesticide-free garden means you get healthy food that
doesn’t burn thousands of gallons of fossil fuels to get to your plate.
Now that you know how beneficial growing your own food is,
which ones should you be growing in the first place? Learn more about them by:
Watching: 8 Healthy Vegetables You Should Be Eating And 8 You Shouldn’t
Or
Finding out about SUPER Vegetables You Should Eat That Pack Some Serious Power
These 2 videos will definitely help you pick out the healthiest vegetables that you might want to
grow in your backyard. So go ahead and pick a video, or watch them both for maximum benefits.
Have you ever tried growing your own food? Tell us your experience in the comments section below!