Why You Need Your Own Garden And How To Start

In the earliest years of the human race, we used to hunt and forage. Then we learned about gardening and plant cultivation. Because we had a constant supply of food, we ditched the nomadic lifestyle and our race began to flourish. Agriculture may not be big as it used to be, but that does not mean that you can’t benefit from it.

In this article, we are going to cover a few reason why having a garden could be the best thing for you.

Better Quality

If you live in a modern society, then you have probably eaten fast food. While fast food isn’t necessarily bad in terms of taste and health wise, but it is not the best thing. In fact, a lot would say that no fast food will ever beat grandma’s home cooked meals. Why is this relevant?

Well, simply because purchasing your produce from a store works similarly to a fast food. Most of the produce you buy come from farmers that are in it for the money. Just like fast food, quality is not exactly the priority. For most farmers, the main goal is to increase the bottom line. To achieve that, they may use engineered plant strains and pesticides.

When you have your own garden, you are not in it for the money and it makes a world of difference. Just like your grandma’s home cooked meals, your garden is blessed with love and care. Hence, with a bit of knowledge, your garden will always produce better quality fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, you will exactly know what kind fertilizers and/or pesticides you are using. That means peace of mind for you.

Stress Relief

Every day we see a lot of advertisement claiming that this and that product is the “best” stress relief. In fact, we are so bombarded with this kind of ads that we are already callous to the term. However, when it comes to gardening, we have studies to show that it’s actually a good way of relieving stress.

A Dutch study once did a test. Two groups were instructed to do a stressful task. Later, the first group was assigned to do some gardening for 30 minutes; while the other group was instructed to read a book indoors. The results are very surprising.

The group who did some gardening have shown to have lower cortisol levels. Cortisol is known as the “stress hormone”. Chronic elevations of cortisol levels can cause a plethora of health problems from obesity, heart problems to mental and learning issues.

Brain Health

Another surprising benefit of gardening is it improves your mental health. In fact, a long-term study of about 3,000 adults in a span of 16 years shows that gardening is able to reduce the risk of dementia by 36%. According to researchers, it could be that gardening includes a lot of critical function such as sensory awareness, problem-solving, learning, dexterity, endurance, and strength. It highly possible that with the synthesis of these factors may be great preventative measures for improving brain health.

Now that we have covered why gardening is such a beneficial hobby, the next question would be - where or how do I start?

Gardening Basics

If you are just starting out, the don’t think big. In fact, a plant box is a great way to start. We highly suggest that you start with tomatoes and basil. This is because tomatoes and basil are hardy plants. Also, you can always use tomatoes and basil as an ingredient. But that’s not all.

We suggest that you start with tomatoes and basil as you can plant them side by side. This is called companion planting and it offers a lot of advantages.

The basil’s strong scent acts as a natural pesticide which deters flies, aphids, and mites. This means your tomatoes can grow unhindered. The scent also attracts bees which help in the pollination of tomatoes.

Another benefit is that is it enhances the flavor of your tomatoes. Tomatoes have the tendency to take on some of the flavors of the basil if you plant them side by side.

Tomatoes and basil have similar requirements for growth. They both need higher outdoor temperatures, water, and sunlight. With tomatoes and basil, you get to have two kinds of plants and less emphasis on micromanagement.

Gardening is a great hobby for various reasons. You get to have better health and produce. If you are ready to pick-up the hobby, start with basil and tomatoes as the two plants greatly compliment each other if you plant them side by side.