Some people tell me I am wasting my time when I am in the garden almost every day. I disagree completely and here are a few reasons why I feel gardening is a great skill for anyone to have.
First of all, gardening requires skills, patients, discipline, and trouble-shooting which are good skills to develop anyway. Gardening is good exercise for the mind as well as the body. It can help to relieve the stress of the day by offering a productive distraction. The fruits and vegetables are great to make healthy meals and snacks without having to run to the store or spend your hard earned money.
Everyone knows that prices on foods keep going up, especially the fresh and organic foods. My best guess would be that you can get up to 10 times or more product for the money when you grow your own fruits and veggies. Figure you can get 5lbs of tomatoes for about $8-$10 at the grocery store, probably more for organic, and for that same price you could buy a few hundred tomato seeds or 6-12 pre-started plants. These plants will produce 50lbs or more of tomatoes. The same applies to nearly everything you can grow at home.
Let's say you want to lose some weight or just want to be healthier. Gardening is a good way to get up and moving which in turn will help burn calories and fat. It will help keep your heart rate up and keep joints more flexible. The harvest will provide healthy foods to eat for both meals and snacks. Improve your health in two ways by doing one productive hobby.
Gardening is good for the earth. Green plant life produces oxygen for us to breathe. I like oxygen and gardening helps create more. You will also be throwing less into the trash if you start a compost to use with your garden. Mother Earth smiles when you garden.
Learn to survive if ever needed. I don't buy the revolution or apocalypse crap that is out there these days, but let's say it did happen and you were left to survive on your own. Wouldn't it be nice to eat when all hell breaks loose? Learn how to make your own food and you may have a better chance to survive.
Remember, Mother Earth smiles when you garden!
