I’ve written a few posts on how to grow your own food, what food to grow and top tips for getting it right. But I don’t think I’ve shared WHY I grow my own food! So here it is, my reasons for growing my own food.
Originally, my desire to grow my own food came out of grief. I lost my nan to cancer and in response to the empty, hollow feeling of grief that consumed me, I decided on a whim to start a garden. Established flowers and shrubs are expensive, but seeds were cheap. So I grabbed a few (more than a few) packets and got to work building a couple of make shift raised beds in our rental garden. As we were renting at the time, most of what I grew was actually in pots on the patio. It’s amazing just how much you can grow in a pot!
As I whacked things in the ground and watched them grow and produce vegetables, I felt happy. Calm. I realised that I had been at war with the world, with life since my nan had passed away. Placing my hands into the Earth, nurturing seeds into plants, had given me peace again. Life was beautiful, growing things was therapeutic and magical.
As my hobby flourished, I found new reasons to love growing my own food.
- IT’S MAGICAL
It’s literally magical. You are placing seeds into the ground and nurturing them into massive plants that produce vegetables that you can eat. Or, you can save the seeds and start the process all over again. It’s literally magic.
It gives you a new perspective on life. You realise that the life cycle is beautiful and inevitable. And that growing stuff, might just be the very meaning of it all!
2. IT’S ACTUALLY GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH
Soil contains so many microbes with all kind of good things in them. In fact, scientist think one of these microbes might be a natural antidepressant! So sticking your hands into the soil is so healthy for you!
Gardening also reduces stress, keeps you fit, lowers your blood pressure and can improve your immune system. That’s not to mention all the fresh veggies you’ll be eating!
3. IT SAVES YOU MONEY
It doesn’t. This one is a lie, but I like to say it because it sounds good. It actually will end up costing you money. It doesn’t have to, of course. You can grow vegetables on the cheap. But, once you start enjoying it, you’ll want to spend more on fancy stuff. You’ll be obsessed with pots and compost and tools and buying fresh seeds even though you saves a load from the year before. Money will trickle from your account and all you’ll have to show for it is a bunch of plants.
Shame you can’t grow money, huh?
4. IT’S EASY
This one’s true, no matter how much ‘experts’ try to convince you otherwise. Growing vegetables is as easy as whacking a seed in the ground and giving it some water.
Anyone who tries to convince you it’s any harder than that, probably wants to sell you a book or an e-course they’ve written!
Whack it all in. The worst that can happen is it doesn’t grow and you have to sow it again (Maybe number 3 is starting to make sense now, lol)
5. IT GIVES ME PURPOSE
You know when people post a picture of themselves walking their dog in the pouring rain and then caption is something like ‘so glad I have a dog, they force me to get outdoors every day no matter what the weather is’. Well… that’s how I feel about gardening. My allotment plot gives me purpose, a reason to get up and leave the house every day and spend a good amount of time in the outdoors.
In London, when it’s cold most of the time, it can be really tempting to spend days on end indoors. It’s not good for me, I know that. Just an hour outdoors in the fresh air, doing something productive makes me happier, stronger and more productive as a human!
These are my reasons for growing my own food. What are yours?
Hi Emma,
Interesting to hear your reasons for growing your own. I can definitely relate to reasons 1 & 2. I think my main reason for growing my own fruit & veg was so that I knew my produce was truly ‘fresh’ and that no harmful chemicals, etc had been used in the growing process. Also if we are thinking about the environment, its good to know my produce only travelled a couple of meters and didn’t come wrapped in plastic. It does also feel like you are saving money 😉