The Benefits of Growing a Garden

Are you growing a garden for the first time?

You’re in good company! Gardening is becoming more popular than ever – and for good reason given the climate we find ourselves in.

Note: This is a collaborative series between my father, Boyd White, who has been gardening for nearly 40 years, and myself {Becky}.

Did you know that gardening is practiced by about over half of households in the US alone to one degree or another?

Here in the States almost 50 billion dollars is spent on gardening supplies every year. It has been estimated that in 2020 between 18 to 20 million households started a garden. And a 2020 report showed that well over half of adults grow or plan to grow edible plants.

Besides creating the ability to help provide food for yourself and/or your family in a sustainable way, here are a few of the benefits of gardening you may not be aware of.

Growing a Garden can {or may}…

1) Provide some exercise and muscle-strengthening. Gardening isn’t sedentary. There’s lots of weeding, raking, and hauling involved. And depending on the size of your garden, how far you have to haul water, or if it’s on a hillside {like mine}, you could have the potential of getting some great exercise!

2) Give you healthier food choices. There is no doubt that by growing your own food at home you can take more control of your own food. For example, when you starting growing a garden, you can better control what kind of seeds or plants you buy and what is/isn’t sprayed on your food.

3) Provide Vitamin D. As you work outside, your eyes and skin absorb Vitamin D, which is very important for your immune system!

4) Decrease your stress and anxiety. Simply put, getting outside in the fresh air and sunshine is good for the soul.

5) As much as a 46% reduction in the development of dementia and/or Alzheimer’s disease. {A study was published in the journal Neurology, which followed 800 women from 1968 to 2012. One of the main activities by participants was…. You guessed it – gardening!}

6) Help you save money. I don’t need to tell you about the rise in food prices…

Growing a Garden: The Problem?

When I, Becky, first started thinking about gardening, the learning curve felt entirely too high. I didn’t even know where to start, and that was enough to keep me from doing it. You may feel, like I did at first, that you just can’t do it. But I’ve learned over the last year and a half now that it’s a learning curve for sure! You must have a Homestead Growth Mindset!

Some of you may even feel like the lack of space is a huge barrier that keeps you from starting a garden.

Take heart! This series is designed to help you grow in your knowledge step-by-step. After all, how do you eat a hippopotamus sandwich? One bite at a time!

And gardening does not necessarily require large amounts of space and soil as you’ll see…

In this Gardening Series, we {my dad and I} hope to:

Help you decide what to grow in your garden
Learn about the kinds of garden beds that may work best for your situation
Give you resources for soil testing
Explain the different kinds of seeds you can buy and from where
Show you how to germinate your own seeds
Share how to map and plant your garden {companion planting included}
Explain how to maintain your garden with watering, weeding, fertilizing, and pest control
Empower you to GROW A GARDEN this year!

Enjoy growing that garden!
~Becky