I grow as much of my vegetables as I can, and planning to become as self sufficient as soon as possible – apart from tropical fruit and veg like pineapples and avocados – because of the many advantages it bestows.
The first and obvious one is that it cost virtually nothing – just the cost of the seed. But it provides so many other advantages, which I would be happy to pay for.
It provides gentle exercise in the open air with a good dose of the ‘sunshine vitamin’ (vitamin D). What’s more it’s interesting that nearly all the folks who live the longest, healthiest lives also garden. One of my longevity heroes, vegan Elsworth Wareham of Loma Linda CAL, only gave up his jobs as a cardiac surgeon at age 95 so he could spend more time gardening. He mowed his own grass and did a great deal of physical work right up until his death, aged 104.
Growing your own veg means you have total control over what goes into it and what goes on it, so you can avoid all those chemical squirts that come with commercially grown produce. What’s more, organic vegetables – lacking the protection of pesticides – have to work harder to survive and that often shows in extra taste. For example to difference in taste between organic carrots and non-organic carrots when juiced is like the difference between chalk and cheese.
Add to that, the valuable health advantages, now being more widely recognized, of being in contact with nature and what’s not to love?
Vegetables start to deteriorate as soon as they are picked. So being able to go out into your own yard and pick vegetables minutes before you eat them means you are gaining the absolute maximum nutritional value – far more than can be obtained by even the most organic vegetables bought from the supermarket or even your local farmer’s market, simply because they were harvested hours ago instead of minutes ago like your veggies. UK chef, James Martin, conducted a taste test at his stall in Winchester Farmer’s Market where members of the public did a blind tasting of organic veggies from the supermarket, which would have been harvested the previous day and his own home grown veggies picked from his Hampshire garden just hours previously . HIs produce won hands down for maximum vibrancy and taste.
Of course we aren’t all lucky enough to enjoy a sunny garden, but – with a little ingenuity – it’s possible to still enjoy a tasty, if limited, range of foods.
For example, in addition to regular tomatoes I grow a type of cherry tomato in hanging baskets which are very free-fruiting and ideal for snacking as you pass them in the garden or picked in larger numbers for a tasty, nutrient packed, salad or tray bake.
And even if you cannot accommodate hanging baskets then – provided you have a sunny window sill – you can still grow tomatoes such as ‘Red Robin’ and Sweet and Sturdy’, which have been specially bred for growing in pots on widow sills. And you can also grow ‘Cut and come again’ lettuce where you simply pick s many leaves as you want and leave the rest to grown on. And there are an amazing number of tasty and healthy herbs, such as Basil, Parsley and Rosemary you can grown this way. .
And, don’t forget wonderful mushrooms which really lend themselves to be grown indoors all year round. And, because they don’t need light to grow can be located almost anywhere.
Happy gardening!
