10 Great Reasons to Grow your Own

It’s never too late to start growing your own

Garden spaces both big and small can bare a wealth of crops for all the seasons and in this changing climate with rising cost of living prices, environmental impacts of industry and our own carbon footprints, many of us are turning to growing our own at home.

Not only is practicing self-sufficiency good for our environment, it’s also great for you and your families physical and mental health. So, if you are still on the fence about starting your own growing journey, we are here to give you 10 great reasons to dive in this year!

1. Save yourself money

Growing your own produce can save you money – not just on your shopping bill but on your transportation costs as well. If money saving is your goal the best advice you can follow is to only grow what you will want to eat!

You won’t save a lot of money if you grow your own crops such as onion, garlic and maincrop potatoes but productive produce such as runner beans, tomatoes and courgette plants will be plentiful even in small spaces. Growing ‘exotic’ crops such as chillies and peppers successfully will also be considerably cheaper than those bought from your local supermarkets.

For long terms returns, you may wish to invest in fruit/citrus trees and shrubs to harvest annually. For a more detailed list of crops that could potentially save you money click here

2. Fresher is Better

Most of the Fresh produce found in our supermarkets will have undertaken a long journey of harvesting, distributing and storage before it sees your supermarket shelves.

Produce that is freshly picked at home will not only taste more flavourful but they will have retained more of their nutritional value.

3. Know what you eat

Gain control over the lifespan of your produce by harvesting exactly what you need – when you need it. Many crops such as salad leaves are a great example of this as they can be harvested repeatedly, keeping yields fresh.

Not only is this less wasteful overall but for a lot of crops, you’ll be encouraging even more growth! Growing at home also guarantees that no harmful chemicals or pesticides have been used in the process of growing your fruit and veg

4. Exercise

Exercise is crucial to maintain a healthy lifestyle and gardening is an excellent way of adding a little more exercise into our lives.

Growing and maintaining a garden will get you up and going outside – it isn’t effortless, but your body and mind will both be thanking you!

5. Vitamin D

On the subject of our health, outdoor gardening is a fantastic excuse to get outside and absorb that Vitamin D we need produced by the sun.

Many people living in the UK suffer from Vitamin D deficiency which can cause brittle bones and has been linked to impact, mental health, insulin production and immune function.

6. Sense of achievement

We all need a win sometimes and successfully nurturing seeds into established plants is a great achievement.

Watching your plants grow into produce that you can serve to family and friends is a rewarding feeling that you can feel proud of.

7. Environmental impact

According to the WWF, Agriculture is the world’s largest industry, employing more than one billion people and generating over $1.3 trillion dollars worth of food annually. Unsustainable farming practices can have serious impacts on the environment, with forests being cleared to make way for farming fields and natural water resources being strained and polluted.

Not only can the industries be potentially harmful to the land, transportation of goods via lorries and airfreight immensely increases the carbon footprint of your store-bought produce. DEFRA has estimated that food transit is responsible for 25% of miles travelled by heavy good vehicles on the UK – producing 19 million tonnes of CO2 annually.

Growing your own is not going to save the world but you’ll certainly be making a positive step forward to a better and more sustainable environment.

8. Teach the children

Take the science class outside into your garden and learn to grow with your children setting them up for a healthier future.

Why not check out our blog on the benefits of getting your children into gardening.

9. Get Creative

Growing your own can inspire you to set aside the recipe books and get creative with mealtimes.

Experimenting with growing different varieties of you favourite fruits and vegetables can also yield new flavours (and sometimes colours!) of your shop favourites – expanding both your garden and cooking knowledge.

Tomatoes are a great example of versatility in growing varieties and culinary uses.

10. Start a new hobby

Gardens will need consistent care, if you find joy in nurturing houseplants, growing your own little herb garden, learning about the environment or are simply just curious, then starting to grow your own may just be another hobby to get obsessed about.