Why Garden?

There are many reasons to garden, and many reasons to garden indoors. Of the multitude of reasons that various people choose to garden, there are several that make the most sense to me. Allow me to explain:

Gardening is good for your health. Simply interacting with plants has been shown to have a positive effect on a person’s physical wellbeing (1). I know I feel better when I’m enjoying plants, nature, or the outdoors: that’s one of the reasons my hubby and I are moving to the mountains. It’s incredibly relaxing.

Eating fresh foods is good for your health. Fruits and veggies are most nutritious as soon as they’re picked (2). They also taste better that way.

Eating fresh foods is good for the environment. The farming methods through which we usually get our food use about 10 calories of Earth energy to produce 1 calorie of energy that we’re eating (3). If we grow even a little bit of food for ourselves, we can use more sustainable growing practices than the so-called “factory farms” (3). Growing practices like organic farming (most fertilizers are made from petroleum products… yuck!), indoor farming (which can make foods available year-round that would otherwise be either unavailable or, more likely, shipped from thousands of miles away (4)), and composting the inedible parts of plants (which can then be used as an organic fertilizer—cue singing “Circle of Life”).

Since my hubby and I are moving to the mountains (where the last time it snowed was April 1… seriously), I can’t grow as many things outdoors as I would probably like to. I don’t want to let a little thing like snow get in the way of making us more self-reliant, so I have to figure out ways we can grow food indoors. Like the things I mentioned in my last post: using indoor lighting can trick plants into thinking days are longer, which can mean more produce (5), and growing without soil can reduce water use by 70% (6).

I don’t want this adventure to just be about me (and my +1); I’d like it to be inspirational for everyone. Just because you don’t have an “outdoors” doesn’t mean you can’t grow your own food. Remember: every little bit helps. Even growing enough veggies for one meal means that that meal won’t be reliant on fertilizers and pesticides that are damaging to the environment. I would encourage you to start small: one tomato plant or herb garden in a windowsill is enough to plant the seeds of change. Or you can jump in with both feet, like I am. We can go through it together. It won’t always be easy; if it was, everyone would be doing it, right? But if we lead by example, one step at a time, we can make a change that’s bigger than ourselves. If we work together, if we become self-reliant, we can create a better tomorrow and a healthier world for everyone.