Why Should I Grow a Garden?

A lot of people give excuses like; I live in the city so there's no room, I don't like getting dirty, there's no point in growing food when you can get it at the store.

Interesting logic considering everyone has now survived a global pandemic. We've all seen firsthand what happens (and is happening) when people panic-buy. There isn't enough left for many. And unfortunately, you see a lot of theft at stores as well. What are you supposed to do when this happens?

Growing a garden helps with health

Reasons to grow a garden

For Health

"People are fed by the food industry, which pays no attention to health. And are healed by the health industry, which pays no attention to food," Wendell Berry

It is incredibly hard to go to the store and find food that isn't stuffed with chemical preservatives and added fillers, all of which wreak havoc on our body's and end up causing a world of hurt. Growing a garden allows you to eat real food. It allows the nutrients in the food to actually be absorbed into your body and help you to stay healthy. Caring for a garden also gets you off the couch and moving, another way to stay healthy.

Growing your own food also allows you to eat organic without spending insane amounts of money. It also helps to decrease your risk of certain chronic diseases and helps to reduce the amount of pollution in the air and water. And reduced danger of food contamination (think salmonella and E. coli)

"The food you eat is either the safest form of medicine, or the slowest form of poison." (ehealthwithshannon)

For Economic Stability

"The solution to the economic crisis and finding livelihoods- Start a garden. Agriculture and food is an area where everyone can begin today. That is why the garden is so important. It teaches us that there's something we're capable of doing." Vandana Shiva

With the recent pandemic, it struck everyone the importance of food security. Where will your next meal come from? Did you know the first supermarket supposedly appeared in America in 1946? Where did everyone get their food before then? Sure there were some specialty store, like the butcher and maybe some that carried imported foods like bananas.. But food then came from the yard, or the woods.

My grandma grew up fairly poor. No indoor toilet til she was an adult and her father worked a minimum of 2 jobs at a time. How did they eat? They had a garden. They may have sometimes only had some tomatoes and potatoes to eat with eggs (they also raised chickens). But they always had some food. Because they grew it themselves.

"More than ever before, we need to learn and apply principles of economic self-reliance. We do not know when the crisis involving sickness or unemployment may effect our own circumstances." Ezra Taft Benson, Former United States Secretary of Agriculture and Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I don't have enough space

That's a load of codswallup. Herbs can be grown in small pots in the window or kitchen. Nearly every plant can be grown in pots/buckets. I, myself, only have a 10x10 patio for my garden since I rent. I keep a 10 gallon grow bag of potatoes, and built myself a sort of stand that can hold 9 5 gallon buckets with room underneath for shade plants. I also keep a makeshift greenhouse in my garage. There's no reason you cannot grow at least a percentage of the food you eat.

Get creative, grow vertically with some of those hanging organizers on your fence or something. Garden as if your life depended on it. Who knows, someday it might.

I don't like getting dirty

So wear gloves and a waterproof suit thing. Or just shower afterwards. You can't avoid getting dirty in life so might as well make it worth it.

Getting it at the store is much easier

Again, you saw what happened during the pandemic and what's happening in places like California. You will not always have access to a store.

Growing a garden helps with food security