Right now is the best time to start organic gardening! Whether you start growing seeds indoors or planting your own backyard garden oasis, there are lots of reasons to not keep it as a far-off goal to achieve “someday.” We’ll walk you through some of the top reasons you should get started on your organic garden today. 

We Are What We Eat

We live in a world where quick fixes and a growing population are causing many farmers to turn to chemicals and toxins to ensure they can raise more resilient crops.

These chemicals are harmful to the overall ecosystem (read more about that HERE) and can cause us to ingest harmful toxins even when we think we’re making a healthy choice to eat fresh fruit and vegetables. There are so many pesticides and chemicals used in “fresh meals” that you are sometimes better off not consuming those meals at all. 

What do we suggest as the alternative? Chemical-free, organic gardening. Organic gardening is a way of growing fruits and vegetables that is free from all harmful pesticides and chemicals. 

Studies also show that organically-grown food also has 20% – 40% higher levels of antioxidants than commercially-grown food. That’s a good reason to grow your own food!

Beautify Your Environment 

Taking pride in the environment you take ownership of can make a huge difference. Whether that’s your own front lawn, backyard, a community garden, or an allotment.

There is a certain satisfaction that comes from putting your sweat and hard work into something that not only produces healthy food but also makes your home or community more beautiful. You can improve your surroundings by putting your own creative twist onto whatever style of gardening you’d like to spruce up your space. 

Develop a New Hobby and Skill 

As you might guess from looking at any beautifully-grown garden, there’s a lot that goes into making a garden look attractive. By jumping into the world of gardening, you can develop such skills as composting, hedging, raising seeds, building raised beds, and more.

Building something from scratch with your own hands brings its own unique sense of accomplishment and can really help you gain confidence that can spread into all areas of your life.  

Share Your Talents With Others 

Not only will the skills you acquire to beautify your garden improve your life, but it can also improve the lives of those around you. You can spread your expertise to beautify other spaces by volunteering at your community garden, helping family and friends, and even sharing your experiences with gardening groups and associations.

You can look on Facebook to find local groups to follow (I love all of the local-specific information provided by gardeners living in my area on my local gardening facebook group!), or you can visit the American Horticultural Society’s page HERE to find a local association to join. 

Be Healthy 

Getting out to soak up the sun and being active is a great way to stay healthy. Not only does the Vitamin D from the sun do a lot of good for plants who rely on it for photosynthesis, but Vitamin D also helps us humans with our immune system, bone health, and can protect against diabetes or cancer. Gardening is also a perfect low-impact activity and can be a great way to get your blood pumping.

Save Money

In a world of ever-increasing costs for an ever-increasing standard of living, bills can pile up faster than you realize. The digits you see accumulating on your grocery bill can be just one source of stress for a growing family or even a small family. Don’t convince yourself that you have to live off spam and ramen. Growing your own organic food can be a great way to provide healthy, whole meals for your family without the sting of a hefty price tag. 

Not only that, organic gardening means you aren’t introducing harmful chemicals for pest or weed control. Having to buy these chemical solutions can add up over time. Instead, organic gardening provides solutions that can be made mostly from household products that can be made simply right in your home. Read more about natural, organic pest and weed solutions HERE.

Feed Your Soul 

Taking care of your garden can be therapeutic. In fact, they have what they call horticulture therapy, which is used to treat diagnosed mental and physical health conditions (it’s often used in rehabilitation).

It not only helps reduce stress, but it also allows you time in the outdoors to feel connected to nature and provides time for reflection.

Therapy is led by a certified and trained horticultural therapist, and according to the American Horticultural Therapy Association can help improve memory, cognitive abilities, task initiation, language skills, socialization, strengthen muscles, improve coordination, balance, endurance, ability to work independently, problem-solve, and ability to follow directions. You can learn more about horticultural therapy at the AHTA site HERE.

Summary 

Bottom line? Gardening brings beauty, peace, and meals to everyone in one big, satisfying adventure that you don’t want to miss out on!