The Benefits of Growing Your Own Vegetable and Herb Garden

With supermarket prices rising, more people are now thinking about growing their own food, but they often wonder if it is worth the effort, time, or money. Growing your own vegetables and herbs actually has more benefits than you initially might realise. Here are some of them:

Freshness and increased nutrition

The food you grow is fresher than any you can buy. Lettuce leaves can be on your table in minutes, or a fresh pea popped from a pod into your mouth in seconds. The herbs and vegetables that you buy in the supermarket are often weeks, or even months old, but are kept fresh with chemicals and packaging. The fact that you can harvest your own produce when you need it, or preserve it straight away, means that if you grow it yourself it is more nutrient-dense, and so it is easier to get the goodness that your body needs.

Freshly harvested radishes can be eaten in minutes

Gardening can be quite low cost

People may ask what is the point of growing things like carrots if they can buy a bag of them cheaply at the supermarket. Well, if you buy a packet of carrot seeds you can get around 400 seeds and you could grow organic carrots for under £2 for a whole season. They will be far fresher than the ones you can buy at the shops. You can also pick them on the day that you want to eat them. This stops them going mouldy and soggy at the bottom of your fridge, as happens in most homes, so there is less waste. You are therefore saving money by growing your own. The price of organic fruit and vegetables in the supermarket or at your local farmer’s market is beyond most people’s budget, but if you grow them you can enjoy them daily. Growing things that are expensive and preserving them, like drying herbs, with save you even more money and your store cupboard will have a greater selection.

You can’t beat the fresh taste

There is no comparison between supermarket fruit and vegetables and those that you have grown, especially things like tomatoes and cucumbers. You will find supermarket ones tasteless after you have plucked some from your own garden or allotment. You will also find that you don’t have to use as much salt or other condiments to make your meal tasty.

Homegrown potatoes make the most satisfying meals

You are in control and can eat organically

All sorts of sprays and pesticides are used on the vegetables that we buy from the shops. Most of us are unaware of them. When you grow your own vegetables and herbs you are in control and you know exactly what you have used on your plants. They can be as organic as you want. There are many ways that you can fertilise your crops organically for free. You can even pick the produce when it is the size you want, or as ripe as you like it.

Convenience

If you grow it, you can have the convenience of a fresh stock of ingredients at home. You can snip some basil to garnish your pasta or pizza, pick some parsley for a sauce for fish, or pull a mixture of vegetables for a vegetarian chilli without having to nip out to the supermarket. There’ll be no more worries if you forgot to pick up coriander for tonight’s meal – it’s waiting out in the garden for you, whenever you need it.

A simple herb planter can provide garnishes for every meal

Growing vegetables is good for your physical health

Gardening is a very adaptable activity. It can burn lots of calories and be quite a workout if you want it to be, but it can also be done from a wheelchair or a stool in raised beds or containers. The physical aspect of stretching improves a person’s flexibility as they weed and plant crops. Being outside in the fresh air, and getting lots of vitamin D from the sunshine also helps with the immune system and general health.

Growing also helps improve mental health

It is well documented that growing your own vegetables and herbs relieves stress, and reduces depression and anxiety symptoms. It is even said that it reduces the symptoms of Dementia as it improves concentration when undertaking tasks like taking the side shoots out of tomato plants. Listening to the birds whilst planting your crops can be so calming and fill you with hope, and the sense of accomplishment when you harvest or eat your own crop is amazing, even if you have been gardening for years.

You develop a deeper connection to nature

When you grow your own vegetables and herbs you get used to looking at the weather forecast to know when to plant, when to protect young crops, or when to water. Therefore, you become more aware of the seasons and the changing weather patterns. You also have a deeper connection with the earth that you are growing your plants in, and the bugs and insects that are flying and crawling around. You start to gain a greater understanding and connection to nature.

There’s nothing as satisfying as eating fresh pod peas

Growing your own vegetables is better for the environment

By buying less food and vegetables, because you are growing it yourself, you are reducing the need for plastic packaging, the use of chemicals, and the carbon emissions caused by food miles. If you make your own compost from things like cardboard and vegetable peelings, you are also giving back to the soil and reducing landfill waste. Growing certain crops can even add nitrogen to the soil and increase oxygen, so you are giving back to nature rather than adding to climate change.

Gardening is an ideal family friendly activity

This is a hobby that you can participate in as a family. Involving children in growing is not only a learning activity for them, but will improve their health as well. They are much more likely to eat something green if they have grown it themselves. It will also raise self-esteem. As a family you are also much more likely to incorporate more vegetables into your diet as you won’t want to waste any with all the effort you have put into growing them as a family.

The thought of starting your own vegetable and herb garden can feel overwhelming but it is much easier than you think. You can pick up a pack of seeds and start growing with little more than a bit of soil and a recycled pot. It doesn’t matter whether you have an allotment, a raised bed in your garden, a large pot or even a windowsill, you can still enjoy eating your own grown vegetables. They will taste so much better, and a quick garnish from your herb container will bring the presentation of your food up to the next level. Why not give it a try?