Last updated on August 19th, 2020 at 05:48 pm
Planning, planting, and tending to your flower, vegetable, or fruit garden can provide immensely healthy food for you and your loved ones. Of course, it also beautifies your yard. So, just how does it create a more substantial life, you might ask?
Well, there are so many positive effects that if you don’t garden yet – I plead with you to PLEASE start! 🍅🥕
Even if you think you have a brown thumb, or you live in an apartment: this post will clearly point out the positively indisputable reasons why you should start a garden of some sort. If you have ever considered it, or even IF you are totally intimidated or totally sick of people telling you to garden — you STILL need to read this post.
Because it could not only totally improve the quality of your current life, it could actually save your life….
I know that seemed all a bit dramatic. But I really believe it! Here is just a quick listing (we’ll get more into each later) of how gardening improves your life:
- it’s guhreat for Mother Earth and the environment
- it’s good for your physical health
- it’s good for your mental health
- it beautifies your immediate environment
- it’s fun!
I mean, c’mon!!! Based on the above 👆 – who wouldn’t see all the reasons to start some sort of a garden???
But I bet the biggest reason to start gardening is one many people don’t even know about:
It can extend your lifespan.
It’s totally true and backed by research! Overall, it looks like when you take all the information (both academic and anecdotal) out there the conclusion is that those who garden can live up to 14 years longer than those who don’t.
Pretty powerful, right?
As someone who was fortunate enough to grow up in a rural community and with parents who taught my sister and I to appreciate growing certain varieties of food, I have always appreciated gardening perhaps more than the average person. But you, dear reader, whether a Master Gardener OR a complete newbie, can also reap the seemingly endless rewards of gardening. And it is totally easier than you think to get started. But first, why? Then we’ll get into the how….
So, WHY on earth should you start a garden?
🍅 STRESS RELIEVER: there’s no doubt that getting outside, tilling the soil, and planting beautiful things that you can watch grow is a major reliever of stress! Stress, as most of us know, can seriously and effectively increase our chances of hormonal imbalance and disease. Gardening provides a positive outlet for stress, as opposed to something that just numbs the realities of stress. Balancing your stress hormones can improve everything from cortisol levels, blood pressure levels, and inflammation within the body.
And, of course when you’re gardening, you’re outdoors – which helps you get your Vitamin D as well as lowering stress levels by being in nature! Since ample Vitamin D levels are associated with protection against certain types of cancer and heart disease, starting even a small garden and tending to it regularly really IS critical to both our mental and physical health!
🥦 EAT THOSE VEGGIES: now, this might seem obvious, but it really IS true that when you have planted veggies or fruits from seed or from a start, you are much more likely to consume said food! When you’ve committed to caring for your food, you are there fore much more likely to ensure it gets consumed. So, clearly stated: people who plant, care for, and harvest their food eat more nutritious foods such as veggies and fruits! By eating more of these healthy foodstuffs, these gardeners are consuming less processed foods, which means more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants….and less consumption of toxins!
🍓 GARDENING = MOVEMENT when you work a garden, you are moving. And when you are moving, you are automatically becoming healthier. Lifting, digging, raking, pulling weeds, changing positions — it’s ALL low-level exercise! So, most anyone can do it! Gardening also makes us get away from a screen/electronics. In a day and age where we are so dependent on technology, getting your hands dirty and gardening forces us to spend more time away from the screens. And, gardening is exercise that is actually enjoyable….versus having to always talk yourself INTO exercise. Or, is that just muah??? 🤔🤣
🥕IT’S A FORM OF SELF-CARE did you know that when you garden, you can enter a state of consciousness that is somewhat similar to the level of consciousness you enter when you meditate? It’s true! Gardening requires a certain level of focus that takes the mind into another realm, if-you-will; this realm is restorative, tranquil, and ethereal. Gardening also requires one to take some time to oneself, which forces us to have some “me-time.” Lastly, gardening also encourages people to take things slowly, an all-too-overlooked necessity in today’s hustle and bustle. When you do this for yourself, you allow the very best version of yourself to the rest of the world.✌
🥑 GROUNDING + EARTHING = HEALTHY! gardening compels us to get our hands in the soil, something most people are not taking seriously enough! When we disconnect from the earth, we sever the very energy and lifeblood that keeps our microbiome running smoothly. Have you heard of earthing? If not, this is something everyone needs to do for approximately 20 or so minutes each day! So, why not garden in your bare feet? When I am personally turning my raised beds dirt over each season, I actually do this in my bare feet! Sometimes putting my bare foot on the shovel doesn’t feel super comfy, but moving my toes up and down in the dirt is a seriously satisfying feeling. And, it’s crucial to our health! According to this wonderful read, the fact that many of us don’t spend any time touching the earth with bare skin is degrading our health! And by NOT connecting with the earth (dirt, soil, plants, trees, bushes, seeds, etc) this leads to the build up of positive electrons within the body that comes from electrical energy, electromagnetic frequencies, Wifi, and much more, actually! You see, our earth acts as a ground, just as it does for electrical outlets, lowering the extra positive charge.
This book theorizes that it is this build-up of these electrons that can lead to inflammation, disease, and therefore a shorter life span. By continuously touching, and therefore connecting to, the earth – we are successfully removing this extra “charge.” So, kick those shoes off, dive those hands into some soil, and start earthing, y’all!
🍊 GETTING DIRTY: by its very nature, when you garden, you get dirty. Your hands touch soil, compost, plants, stems, seeds, and roots. There are worms, bugs, and insects. Our society as a whole still seemingly has a disdain for “getting dirty.” Toxic hand sanitizers are everywhere, carcinogenic outlet plug-in’s diffuse disease-causing fragrance rather than beyond organic essential oils, and chemicals heavily infiltrate our everyday society from the money we touch to the pillow we lie our head down on each night. So, because this IS our reality, doing whatever means necessary in order to cut BACK on said toxins really is critical to living a healthier, longer life. And, getting dirty actually can be GOOD for you!
In fact, it is the lack of getting dirty (and the soil borne organisms that come with gettin’ dirty) that actually can increase our fragility to chronic diseases, more specifically of the autoimmune variety. You see, soil contains an abundant supply of natural bacteria, minerals and microorganisms. Exposing ourselves to this plethora of beneficial bacteria via touching dirt, soil, etc can actually BOOST our immune systems and our microbiome! Isn’t that super awesome??? Beneficial bacteria is incredibly important in supporting our immunity, which in turn leads to more longevity! #win-win
While eating lots of those fruits and veggies you learn to grow (along with fermented foods, of course!) is critical to your health and longevity, it is actually completely different microorganisms that you are exposing yourself to when you “earth” – or simply, when you garden! And since a VARIETY of beneficial bacteria is optimal, gardening is incredibly important in ensuring this variety happens!
🍑 IT’S CREATIVE + CHALLENGING….IN A GOOD WAY! any gardener will tell you, it’s ALL in the planning. Or, I should say: the PRE-planning! But….. the planning is incredibly creative, and super fun! Not only is it thoroughly enjoyable to sit down and peruse through seed catalogs, it’s also quite calming opening up a gardening book to scan pictures of beautiful grounds and lush landscapes! And, it’s always challenging, which means you’ll never find yourself bored with the subject of gardening….
🌽 PAY IT FORWARD meaning, gardening is something you can teach to others! Whether it’s teaching your kiddo(s) how the life cycle of plants occurs, to volunteering at a local senior center’s horticultural therapy group, teaching others what you’ve learned (no matter what stage of education you’re at!) is incredibly fulfilling and will guarantee a higher level of life satisfaction!
Kids are naturally curious creatures, so they are fabulous students of all things gardening! It also allows you more bonding time with your children, and teaches them the importance of just HOW food ends up on their plates! VERY important, indeed! I’ve also found, as the mother of a VERY picky eater, that when my son helps in the garden, he’s much more prone to eat what he’s helped harvest! AMEN!!! 🙌 Lastly, it gets your kids away from the screen, which is always fabulous….
THE HOW….
🐛 START SMALL I mean it! If you are a total beginner, focus just on what you really love to eat or flowers you absolutely adore. I know this seems obvious, but you’d be amazed how many friends I’ve helped get started with gardening and they come back from the nursery with enough plants for a 5 acre plot! 😳 Just focus on things you’ll want to eat or flowers you’ll want to cut for your house. From there, expand….
🌻 OBSERVE THE LIGHT this is totally important! Suss out whether the spot(s) you’ve chosen are north, south, east, or west facing. South is ideal for plants and flowers that love the sun, north is great for shade lovers. It’s important to watch the plot you plan on planting so you can see just how much light/sun it gets throughout the day! To make it easier, take this information to your local nursery and ask for their Master Gardener (or someone who really “knows their stuff”) and inquire what grows best in the light conditions you have and is known to grow well in your climate zone. Knowing your climate zone is also critically important – without this knowledge you could waste money purchasing the wrong plants/flowers! For readers not in the Western U.S., use this source to find your local climate zone.
🌱 PLAN AHEAD this is something I think MOST (even experienced!) gardeners don’t do enough! It’s easy for some of us who live in temperate areas to NOT plan in advance; whereas for those with four seasons – planning is an absolute must! I can plant year-round where I live, but for those who experience snow and extreme temperatures of any kind – planning is absolutely vital! So, once you know your climate zone, what you’re after growing (flowers vs food, etc), and what out of that choice grows well in your area – well, then you are ready to sketch it all out!
I find that doing this really helps me to stay organized. It allows me to always refer to a physical “map,” if-you-will. I can always refer back to what I planted, and it also allows me to edit my drawings/garden mapping (always use pencil!) to update it or to make changes that didn’t work. Considering that crop rotation is ideal (more on that in a later post!), having this physical ‘map’ also allows you to keep track of what you previously planted in one spot and what crop should be planted in that same spot the next season. Mapping it out – trust me – just makes it all so much easier!
[bctt tweet=”Remember, friends: it’s far better to start small if you are a gardening newbie. It makes a lot more sense to set yourself up for success and to rejoice in watching those first few plants grow taller and produce food or flowers versus finding yourself disenchanted with the overwhelm of a project you weren’t ready for! – A Substantial Life” via=”no”]
🐝 NO SPACE? NO PROBLEM! these days, there are so many community gardens you can become a part of! It’s an absolutely wonderful way to get started with gardening, meet people with similar interests and values, and especially to LEARN from other gardeners! I was personally involved with a community garden when I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I still remember the people I gardened with, and the things I learned from them!
Don’t be intimidated to venture into your local community garden – I assure you there will be zero regret! It’s also an absolutely lovely way to spend the weekend for an hour or more….and if there isn’t one in your area – heck, why NOT look into getting one started!
Alternatively, why not start with a simple window box or small herb garden? Adding fresh herbs to your weekly meals really adds flavor and enjoyment, and physically seeing flowers in a window box is super satisfying – and even adds curb appeal! Who knows, once you start beautifying your exterior space, you might just find you inspire others in your neighborhood to do the same! 😃
🦋 TEACH THE NEXT GENERATION…. Gardening with kids is incredibly rewarding, fun, and inspiring! Being able to teach my own children where food comes from, how to produce food without toxins on it and the importance in that, and showing them the (literal!) fruits of their labor is a life lesson that stays with them forever! It’s time outside with your kids, too – SO important in this day-and-age of technology obsession! I love the freedom my son has to simply run out to the garden to pluck a juice, red strawberry or snap a pea off its shoot. I have such a picky little guy, but I have found when he is involved with planting seeds he has much more of an interest in trying new foods! There’s lots of research out there to show us that there is a critical link to knowing how to grow your own food and the (informed) understanding of the importance of where your food comes from. Why NOT teach that to the next generation????
As you can see, it really is hard to argue all the massive advantages of starting a garden – no matter the size! Take it from me, gardening really IS medicine: it gets more fruits and veggies in one’s diet (and a variety, too!), it gets you outside, and it’s fantastic for your mental health! As a chronic pain sufferer (more on that later, I promise!) gardening has provided me all of those things and much, much more. I’m not my best self when I don’t have a plot of plants to nurture and care for, and tapping into this commitment to something that needs you in order to grow and prosper really is the definition of fulfilling.
I hope this post has inspired you to take the leap and go to your local nursery and get yourself some veg, herbs, fruit, or flowers! I think the most important thing here is that you’ll find yourself in a happier, clearer mindset. And quite frankly, is there really anything more important than that?
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Always Here,
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