Why do some people prefer growing food themselves?
Why grow vegetables vs just buying them at the store?
Why is it better to grow your own produce?
There are many reasons that people love growing their own vegetables! For one, they just taste better. And, it's just so rewarding to pick food from your garden that you grew from seed! But there are many benefits, here are a few more reasons that people love growing their own vegetables:
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Homegrown vegetables taste better!
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Fresh Nutrition & Taste:
When you grow your own veggies, you can pick and eat your produce the same day. This means that you will maximize the nutrients in your food, as nutrients are lost when transported for days to get to your local store. The peppers are crunchier and pack more flavor, you can enjoy fresh red chile that is not commonly sold in stores as it's so perishable, tomatoes can be fully ripened on the vine for the best tasting fruits (store-bought tomatoes pale in comparison), your lettuce will be more crisp, and homegrown herbs like Basil and Cilantro will be fresh and much more flavorful in dishes.
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More choices:
When you grow your own vegetable seeds, you can can grow exotic vegetables that you can't find at the store! Think heirloom tomatoes such as the delicious striped Berkeley Tie-Dye Tomato or the Garden Peach Tomato, or the Japanese Black Trifele Tomato. Or grow specialty peppers such as mushroom-shaped yellow Jamaican Hot Peppers, or super hot Yellow Jalapenos, or crispy chef-preferred sweet Cubanelle peppers, Jimmy Nardello peppers, and so many more specialty peppers that you just can't find in the grocery store.
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Reduce Plastic Use & Resources:
Transported vegetables use resources such as oil & gas and trucks to get to your local store. So growing your own vegetables minimizes the transportation and packaging needed. No plastic packaging is a huge plus! We like to store our veggies in reusable glass dishes – we steam our freshly roasted green chile off the grill in our old Pyrex glass casserole dishes – so no plastic is needed. We aren't sure why "organic" produce is often packaged in plastic when conventional produce is not, it's a huge mystery as people who buy organic would prefer not to have them wrapped in plastic! Hopefully in that that will change if we keep asking the question to our grocery stores!
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You control what is used to grow your vegetables:
You can grow your own vegetables organically, and avoid all use of pesticides and herbicides that can be harmful to your healthy. Even organic vegetables from the store can have been treated with organic pesticides, so growing your own vegetables ensures you can keep everything out of your food that you don't want.
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Reduce food waste:
You can harvest only what you need, and share your extra veggies with neighbors and friends. You are also more likely to eat more vegetables when you grow them yourself as they are readily available and you don't have to make a trip to the store to re-stock.
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Physical Activity:
Gardening keeps you strong, flexible, and fit! Who needs a personal trainer or gym when you have weeds and a garden to tend to?
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Relaxation & Stress Relief:
Gardening can reduce stress and promote relaxation... seeing the bees, hearing the birds, and watching things grow is one of the most rewarding, productive and peaceful ways to spend your time.
So make sure to grow some veggies from seed this year – you don't have to have a full on garden, you can just have a pot of herbs on your windowsill or under lights, or grow peppers in containers on a patio. You can also plant directly in the ground if you can't afford to build raised beds. Join a community garden if you don't have growing space, you'll find that gardeners are a very generous bunch and we share seeds, seedlings, produce and advice freely!
Happy growing!
