I think we can all agree that eating fruits and veggies is good for your health. Ergo, growing your own fruits and veggies is good for you. But the benefits of vegetable gardening go so much deeper than that. 

Here are three surprising benefits of gardening that you may not have known about. 

Homegrown produce is more nutrient dense than grocery store produce. 

Did you know that as soon as a fruit or vegetable is picked from the plant it immediately begins to lose nutrients? Not to mention that a fruit or veggie that is allowed to fully ripen on the plant contains more nutrients than one that was picked prematurely? True story. 

Imagine strawberries that you buy from the grocery store. Let’s say they come from Mexico. Those strawberries were picked before they were ripe, processed and packaged on location, shipped to a distribution center in the U.S., then routed to your local grocery store where they are finally put on shelves and eventually taken home and eaten within a few days. 

Now, imagine growing strawberries in your own backyard. You pick them when they are fully ripe, take them in your house, wash them, and eat them within days. 

Growing food at home gives you produce that is much more nutrient dense than their grocery store counterparts. 

It’s good for your soul. 

For obvious reasons, gardening is good for your body. Maintaining your kitchen garden gets you outside and moving your body more. But gardening is also good for your mental health. It has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety. 

So get out there, get your hands in the dirt, and get in some good garden therapy. 

It helps your local community and the environment.

If you are growing food at home you are likely not using pesticides. Less pesticide use means healthier soil, happier pollinators, and less chemical runoff into our lakes, rivers, and streams. All wins for the Mother Nature.

Kitchen gardening also means saving on packaging that is used to both ship and store produce. Not to mention being able to avoid those pesky, single use, plastic produce bags. 

Speaking of shipping produce, home gardens and buying local reduce harmful emissions released during long distance transit.

Small changes like these can have a big impact. 

It’s almost like kitchen gardens are the answer to all of our problems.

Are you ready to save the world one garden at a time? Here are 3 ways you can get started.

Book a consult and get a custom kitchen garden that was designed specifically for you.

Grab our Kitchen Garden Planning Worksheet and start planning

Download the Columbus Monthly Planting Calendar and see what can grow in Columbus, Ohio each month.