Come and garden with me as I plant some new seeds! As you may or may not know, Eco Food Stuff has its own youtube channel 😀 Come check out my latest video and make sure to subscribe!
Why Garden?
Gardening is one of the most sustainable hobbies out there. Growing plants not only helps sequester carbon from the atmosphere and restore greenery into your community, but it also requires little in terms of materials and provides you with the opportunity to grow your own food! So, if you’re interested in giving this incredible hobby a try, watch the Garden with Me video to get started on your journey 😀
The Benefits Of Growing Your Own Food!
Now I know most people do not have the space, time, and resources to make a large enough garden to sustain themselves entirely, but even having the ability to grow some fresh produce is an immensely rewarding experience! It reduces your diet related carbon footprint, helps with your mental health, provides you with a way to connect with nature, and allows you to grow and harvest produce for a fraction of the price it would take to buy from the store!
Another bonus is that you know HOW the food is being grown. You know what fertilizers are used (if they are used at all), the kind of compost given, the amount of water, the amount pesticides used (if any), and truly get to connect with the growing process of food. Most of us have become disconnected from the growing and harvesting processes of the foods we eat on a daily basis.
In some cases, I do not even know what a plant looks like while it is growing (like quinoa and oats) and I know I’m not the only one! So having the opportunity to watch a plant grow from a seed into a plant that provides me with fresh fruit and veggies has been such an educational and life changing experience!
Growing Native Plants
Another fantastic opportunity that comes with gardening is to provide a safe haven for bees, butterflies, birds, and other animals by planting native plant species in your garden. While it is nice to have a prim and proper trimmed green grass lawn, it’s not the most sustainable choice for landscaping.
For instance, lawns require a lot of water, nitrogen fertilizer, and resources to be maintained without giving any edible products in return, not to mention the catastrophic consequences it has caused to biodiversity. According to a research study conducted by NASA in 2005, lawns are the single largest most irrigated crop in the US and take up an estimated 128,000 square kilometers of land (about the equivalent of 164 New York Cities) in the US.
This number is likely far lower that the actual land used up by lawns in the US, and this research was from 2005 (so now with a larger population and more expansion into what were once rural areas, there are even more big green lawns!).
Well why is this bad? The grass we think about when we think of green lawns are invasive species to most parts in the world. This on its own is worrisome in terms of ecological impact, but also to clear out the space for that grass, native plants had to be completely wiped out of the area. Lawns are basically big monoculture farms with no purpose other than to look pleasing to the eye while they damage the environment!!!
Fortunately, it’s not too late to change our ways. Research native plants in your area and find out how you can incorporate it into your garden if you are lucky enough to have the space to do so. Plant flowering plants that attract native bees, butterflies, and birds, bring back DIVERSITY into your neighborhood!
And as a plus, some organizations will send you native plant seeds FOR FREE to help the environment. Here’s a list of places you can visit to get some free seeds to start your native plant garden and follow the garden with me video to see how to get started!
Free Seed Resources:
- Live Monarch: https://www.livemonarch.com/free-milkweed-seeds/
- National Wildlife Federation: https://www.nwf.org/Butterfly-Heroes/Pledge.aspx
- US National Parks Service: https://altnps.org/seed-packs
So to sum it all up…
Gardening is a great use of your time! It…
- reduces your carbon footprint
- connects you to nature
- increases biodiversity in your community
- saves you money
- prevents the excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides
- is a calming and highly rewarding experience
So, make sure to see what you can do to start your own little garden at home if possible, or even inquire about getting a plot in a community garden! If you need some help getting started, make sure to check out the Garden With Me video to see how I started growing some seeds in my own backyard!
Garden With Me!
Curious for more?
Check out some more Eco Food Stuff content!
If you loved this Garden With Me post, check out some of my recipes and sustainability posts including this recipe for vegan baked falafel, easy-peasy vegan mushroom risotto, gift ideas for the Zero-Waste person in your life, yummy chocolate chip banana bread, decadent chocolate oatmeal, and my favorite vegan breakfast scramble. Plus, remember to subscribe down below to get updates when new recipes are posted, and check out my new youtube channel, ecofoodstuff!
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