5 Reasons to Grow a Food Garden
Starting your own food garden now is more important than ever. Explore 5 reasons below on how growing your own food benefits our physical and mental health, and also positively impacts the environment around us that we live in.
1. Healthy, nutritious food
Being so far removed from the food system these days, it is difficult to really know how the food you are putting on your plate is produced. Growing your own food gives you complete control over that since you get to decide exactly what your plants are exposed to. Learning how to eliminate weeds naturally through the use of mulch which breaks down over time, and creating your own microbe-rich compost to feed the soil eliminates the need for pesticides and chemical fertilisers and allows the growth of (safe) food with a much higher nutritional content than those grown commercially.
2. Grow and harvest exactly what you want
Have you ever made a trip to the supermarket to buy a bunch of herbs when you only need a few sprigs? Growing your own food saves you time and money by allowing you to only harvest what you need, when you need it. You can also grow unique, flavour-packed heirloom varieties of fruit vegetables and save seeds for future seasons, and try growing "forgotten" local and climate-appropriate produce such as Javanese ginseng and Chinese violets that are rarely or never seen in markets these days.
3. Connection with nature and community
Tending to your food garden is an excellent way of connecting with the parts of us that makes us human. Being outside in nature not only allows one to enjoy fresh air, get some Vitamin D and relax, it also opens us up to a world of learning opportunities when we bear witness to the circle of life. The participatory nature of growing, harvesting and sharing of produce is an opportunity to bring friends, family and neighbours together, rebuilding the "kampung-spirit" that we've lost in this day and age.
4. Reduce waste
In small-scale natural farming, there is no such thing as waste - fruit and vegetable scraps, egg shells and coffee grounds are some of the things that can be diverted from landfill and be turned into compost to feed the soil life that will in turn feed you through the nutritious produce grown in your food garden. Furthermore, you get to enjoy produce at peak freshness at your door step, eliminating food wasted in long supply chains commercially, reduce your carbon footprint and avoid all plastic packaging.
5. Opportunity to nurture the environment
Food forests are food gardens with an immense variety and diversity of plants with varying heights (like a forest). When you turn part of your ornamental lawn into a food forest, you are creating a microclimate and habitats for biodiversity to thrive which is very much needed in Singapore where natural environments are constantly under threat to be replaced by new developments. Furthermore, practicing no-till methods of farming is a form of regenerative agriculture that sequesters carbon from the atmosphere by putting organic material back into the soil.
Curious about starting your own food garden but aren’t quite sure how?
We understand that starting a garden can seem intimidating, but we promise that growing your own food is worth the effort and we are excited to pass on everything we know about farming naturally and sustainably to help you succeed. Contact us for an on-site assessment and we will customise a proposal catered to your needs.
