10 Reasons Why You Should Grow Your Own Food

As I sit here and type this we are in the middle of a severe weather “event” here in southern Ontario. Nasty business like ice pellets and rain, tons of snow and high winds; news stations are saying it’s the worst storm we’ve had in over ten years and after looking outside… I believe them. Thankfully we haven’t lost power (yet).

We’ve been keeping in touch with local friends and relatives, ensuring they are safe and prepared for this storm to get worse. It was during a conversation with a local mom I’m acquainted that I became inspired to write this post.

And no the irony of writing about food growing during the middle of a severe ice storm (in April!) is not lost on me.

She mentioned that Sundays are grocery shopping days (I imagine because of when paycheques arrive) and if they lost power (meaning the grocery store would be without power and therefore closed) her family would be in BIG trouble because they have no food in the house. My first thoughts were of sadness and worry for her family. I can only imagine how scary it must be to not know where your next meal is going to come from.

However my next thoughts were of gratitude for my own food stores. We have three deep freezes; each about half full of local organic meat (including our own chickens), frozen vegetables from our garden and fully prepared meals from when I batch cook. We also have a pantry full of canned goods (from chutney to peaches) and bulk foods like oats, rice, quinoa and wheat berries. If we were in a similar situation (tight finances), we would not starve and for that I am extremely grateful.

I mentioned this to the mom I was talking to and she seemed less than enthusiastic about gardening. I get it, I do. Not everyone wants to dig in the dirt and deal with bugs. Gardening isn’t always a picnic as you have to deal with pests devouring your hard work, unforgiving weather and failed harvests.

However I do think that this is a valuable skill that everyone should know and here’s why…

10 Reasons Why You Should Grow Your Own Food

Knowledge – Knowing Where it all Comes From

The food industry is not as truth-worthy as many of us originally thought. Between food recalls, unscrupulous business practices, chemicals, sprays, genetically modified foods and sneaky labeling/advertising; well let’s just say I have a hard time trusting anything I didn’t grow myself these days. I often tell people that I feel like I’ve opened Pandora’s Box when it comes to the food industry. I’ve opened it and I now know too much; I can’t look back to the good ole days of ignorance.

I don’t want chemicals and sprays in my food. I don’t want to have to worry about whether my spinach is going to be recalled due to E coli. I don’t want to find out that Company ABC was just found guilty of false labeling and they actually do use GMO ingredients. No. Thank. You.

And techniques like lasagna gardening allow you to control what’s in your soil so you don’t have to worry about commercial farms spraying or run-off from a big factory somewhere.

Knowledge – Adding a New Skill to Your Resume

Whether you want to garden or not may be irrelevant in the coming years. The world is changing and while I would like to believe it’s in a good way, it’s likely not the case.

Will zombies really come? Probably not. Will everything cease to exist due to some nuclear war or apocalypse? Gosh I hope not. Will we suffer from full economic collapse as a society? Maybe? Will the seasons and weather patterns continue to change and become unpredictable? You betcha. Will the cost of food continue to rise? No doubt about it!

Now I’m not really a full-fledged prepper or doomsdayer, however I do believe in being prepared. I would rather hope zombies don’t come but still prepare just in case. Knowing how to grow food is just a smart skill to have nowadays.

I’m mostly joking about zombies by the way…. mostly. 😉

Passing on the Skills of Self Reliance

This one is definitely related to the previous point of having knowledge, but for a different reason. I want to know how to do these things so that future generations know how; so my son knows how. I can’t explain to you how incredibly important it is to us that our child knows how to take care of himself in this changing world. Of course we will always help him if we can, but one day we might not be here. I don’t want him to need to rely on systems, companies and governments to provide his every need.

Saves You Money

Now’s she’s talking right!? Let’s bottom line it here folks; food is expensive. With the cost of living going up by the second and fuel costs rapidly following suit, food is only going to get MORE expensive. I know some parents in the city who have 3-4 kids and they eat entirely organic. I can only imagine what their weekly grocery bill is like! I don’t know about you, but we can’t afford that. However I do believe I have the right to eat organic, chemical-free, safe food.

That’s where gardening comes in. There is no way we can afford to buy it… so we grow it instead.

Even if you grow everything from seedlings it will still save you money. Let’s break it down:

Let’s take an average Roma tomato plant that is properly trellised and pruned to increase it’s yield. This plant will produce a minimum of 8 pounds of food, but it could produce up to 20 pounds.

If you were to buy those same Roma tomatoes (organic of course) they would cost you an average of $4 per pound depending on the region (less if you live in highly populated city and more if you live rural).

Organic tomato seedling: $4-5
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Organic tomatoes: $32-80

*mic drop*

Curb Appeal Baby

Having a garden is beautiful! Have you ever seen an eggplant flower before? Check it out…

See!! Ain’t she beautiful folks? Edible landscapes are becoming increasingly trendy as people want their gardens to be be lovely and functional at the same time. There are so many beautiful edible plants like okra, chives, kale, sweet potatoes (awesome dark green vines), scarlet runner beans, nasturtiums, colourful lettuces and so many more. And don’t forget about culinary and medicinal herbs like chamomile, rosemary and lavender. Your garden will be stunning and help to feed you and your family. That sounds like a win-win to me!

Cheaper Than Therapy

There are TONS of studies out there that explain the therapeutic benefit of gardening. With benefits like lowered blood pressure, relief from depression and anxiety, and increased immunity due to the exposure to microbes, it’s no wonder more and more people are jumping in the gardening bandwagon.

Encourages You to Expand Your Palette

I absolutely love growing food for this very reason. Gardening teaches you to experiment with foods in a way you never have before. Never tried okra, but it’s too expensive in the store? Grow it. Worst case you hate it and spent a couple of bucks on a seeding (but have a pretty plant). Best case you have just met your new favourite food.

Your kid won’t touch a carrot, even if their life depended on it? Have them start their own vegetable garden. My son tried tons of foods that he was too scared to try before simply because he helped mom and dad grow it.

Amazing Food Variety

Once you enter the world of food gardening you’ll realize there are about 50+ more tomatoes varieties than you EVER knew existed. Grocery stores simply can’t carry every single variety of pepper, eggplant, lettuce or tomato; there would be too much food wasted and not nearly enough shelf space. However, when you can choose what to grow yourself, you will be surrounded by the most amazing vegetable variety. You can select based on shape, size, texture and flavour. You can also choose your plants based on your growing region and the kind of weather you experience.

Last year we bought a variety of eggplant called Little Finger simply because it reminded us of Game of Thrones. No joke.

Fresh Food and Better Taste

There is no way to guarantee fresher food than to grow it yourself. Did you know that freshly picked kale is sweeter than store bought stuff? Yup that’s right! The natural sugars in kale haven’t had a chance to break down yet if all you have to do is go from garden to kitchen. But as they sit on a truck and then on displays in grocery stores they become more bitter as those sugars break down. You think you don’t like kale, but that’s because you haven’t had your kale yet.

Food that has a chance to ripen on the plant also tastes way better than anything you will ever get in a store. Every time I serve a meal to family and or friends that came from our yard that is the first comment I get. “Wow, this tastes soooo good!” Now I’d like to believe it’s my mad chef skills (he he), but if I’m being honest it’s more likely due to the superior ingredients I have to work with.

Improve Your Diet

If you grow your own food you will be inclined to eat said food. When before you may have been tempted to order take out before, tonight you’ll be eating a summer stir fry medley that came right from your yard. On average people consume 1-2 extra servings of fruits and vegetables daily if they grow it themselves.

So there you have it folks! Ten amazing reasons why you should start growing food today. Now don’t get overwhelmed thinking you need to growing everything in your first year. Start with a few tomato plants, some zucchini and maybe some pole or bush beans. Keep it simple and as you watch your garden grow you will feel your love for it grow as well.

In good health,