If you have a garden or an allotment, the option of growing your food might have already crossed your mind. For new gardeners, this can be a little daunting, but there’s nothing quite like freshly grown organic fruit and vegetables.
Growing your own fruit and veg is actually relatively straight forward, contrary to many people’s beliefs. In this article, we’re going to be giving you five reasons you should grow your own food.
It doesn’t get any fresher
The first reason we’d recommend growing your own food is because of how great freshly grown food tastes. When buying store-bought food, it has to be harvested, processed, packaged, shipped and stored. This can take a long time and the food inevitably loses freshness. The great thing about growing your own food is that you can get it from the ground onto your plate the very same day.
It’s fun
The second reason we think you should grow your own food is because of how much enjoyment you get out of it. It’s an activity that gives you a tremendous sense of self-achievement and is incredibly rewarding. It’s also an activity that all the family can get involved in regardless of age. Everyone can pitch in and share the satisfaction of eating tasty organic food that they helped grow.
Environmentally friendly
Growing your own food is much more environmentally friendly than buying it from the store. Store-bought food comes from all over the world, meaning it needs to be transported long distances before ending up on the shelves. This results in pollution from the trucks and airplanes it travels in, which isn’t a problem when it comes to homegrown food. Usually, the only distance homegrown food has to travel is from the vegetable patch up to your kitchen, leaving no carbon footprint.
Saving Money
Another benefit of growing food at home is that you can save money on ingredients. Although your fruit and veg bill probably isn’t breaking the bank, you’d be surprised by how much you’re able to save when you’re making your own. In fact, a reader of Gardenknow saved themselves just under $200 over the course of a year of growing their own vegetables. In an age where every penny counts, growing your own vegetables is a great way to make your money go a little further.
Conclusion
There’s plenty of great benefits that come hand in hand with growing your food at home. The freshness of your food will be unrivaled, you’ll have fun, it’s friendly to the environmentally and you’ll save yourself some money. With all the pros of homegrown food, it’s clear to see why so many people are ditching the store-bought veggies and taking matters into their own hands.
