The planting and raising of food have been around for as long as people have been in communities together. In fact, many experts believe that the invention of farming started the first real settlements. Throughout thousands of years of human history, this has been passed down to modern home gardens. Now everything you need to start your own garden is right down the street at your local Koopman Lumber store.
Here are the top 10 reasons to start your own garden!
1) Healthy Food at Your Backdoor
Imagine having access to fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables by simply walking outside. Gardens bring this pipe dream to life! Concerns about chemical involvement in nationally or internationally sourced produce have been around for years and the easiest way for you to get fresh, healthy ingredients is to grow it yourself!
2) Builds Family Bonds
The Journal of Community Health performed a small study (42 family sample size) that measured how united a family felt when gardening together. Overall, families said that as they gardened together the overall sense of togetherness and bonding went up, increasing family unity. At the end of the day, the garden seems like a safe place for families, so get yours out there!
3) A Good Source of Exercise!
Hate running? Lifting weights just doesn’t appeal to you? Studies show that an hour spent in the garden can burn as much as 300-400 calories! Gardening is a surprisingly physical activity. Between the different items you need to carry back and forth and the stretching that you need to perform to reach certain spots in the garden, you’ll find yourself sweating by the end of a good gardening session!
4) Great Conversation Starters
People are always interested in gardens. You’d be surprised how easy it is to talk to friends, family, and neighbors about your garden’s goals and woes. People like the idea of creating things themselves, especially when it can be healthy, so chat it up!
5) Save Tons of $$$
In the first year, you will have some cost investment. Building beds, soil, wiring, and fencing, will set you back a few hundred (unless you source materials from charitable friends). Even with this, it’s possible you could save money in that first year. Every year it’s calculated that an average home garden will save over $200 on the yearly grocery budget.
6) Personal time
Everyone has a place they go to be by themselves. Some people play music, some watch tv, and others run, but gardening is a great place to go as a “get-away”. A lot of people use their garden as a personal reflection time, to think about what’s happening, process things, and come away with a greater sense of calm.
7) Goal setting
When was the last time you set a real, achievable goal that wasn’t about work? Gardening makes it so easy to set little milestone goals that are so easy to hit! Trust us; there’s nothing like seeing that first bloom or sitting down to eat your first harvest. These real, attainable goals are a great way to spur on some personal development!
8) Great Stress Relief
There was a study out of the Netherlands that had a group of people perform a stressful task, then immediately set half of the group to read indoors and the other half to garden outside. The group that gardened was, across the board, less stressed out than the group who went inside to read.
9) Organic, GMO-free food
GMO is a scary and misunderstood term. Suffice it to say; it’s easy to have natural garden growth without having to worry about the ramifications of GMOs or harmful chemicals in your garden. If you’ve been thinking about going organic, this is the easiest (and cheapest) way to do it in the long run!
10) It’s Beautiful!
Gardens add an aesthetic quality to a lawn that is hard to match. The sight of fresh growing fruits, vegetables, and flowers is a great way to add aesthetic value to your home. Add in a little bench or other sitting areas so friends and neighbors can stop by and smell the roses… or tomatoes.
Wrap Up
Should you start gardening? Yes! Right away! If you have any other questions, you can always reach out to us and we’ll be sure to help you with any problems you might be having. Thank you for reading and we’ll see you next time!
