The more people start growing their own veg, the better, for so many reasons. Here are 5 reasons to share with friends and family who need to be enlightened!
- Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
The benefits to the planet that come with growing your own are so important. No longer will you be creating demand for green beans shipped in from Kenya. Getting produce from one country to another, and then to the depot and then to the store, and then to your home involves the burning of fossil fuels which has a massive impact on climate change. Then add in all the pesticides used and the depletion of soil fertility that comes with intensive growing and you can see what harm is being done by growing on such massive scales. At home, things are different. You can choose to grow organically, and it’s fairly simple. You can make your own compost to keep your soil healthy. You can harvest, cook and eat without incurring any food miles at all. - Plastic-Free Veggies
This goes hand in hand with the above. When you grow at home, you’re in control. You don’t need to buy a bag of carrots or plastic-wrapped tomatoes because that’s all they had in Asda. You can just harvest your veggies using a bowl or trug from the house. No excess plastic required. - Improves Wellbeing
This is something that we’re quite passionate about. Gardening has SO many health benefits, both physically and mentally. Getting out into the garden provides great stress-relief, it can really help to lift the mood and is considered to be very therapeutic for those suffering from depression and anxiety. It’s also a great form of exercise, it will really keep you active in a good way, getting the muscles working and moving blood around the body! - Less Wasted Food
When you grow your own you tend not to waste anything if you can help it. You’ll soon become an expert in freezing, preserving or making pestos to use up gluts. You can also benefit from the ability to harvest produce as and when you need them. - Provides food for insects and other creatures too
Growing veggies in your garden provides all sorts of bugs and creatures with food and habitats. Yes, you won’t want all of them and we know you won’t want to see an increase in your slug population, but it is so important that our gardens play their role in the ecosystem. We desperately need to provide more food for bees and pollinators who have been shortchanged with the increase of roads and buildings and so on.