Many have turned recently to gardening to eat healthy foods. Gardening is a great way to add more vegetables and fruits in your diet which can improve your health. Growing things like leafy green vegetables, tomatoes, herbs and natural products can be a superb experience. Growing your own food has numerous health advantages:
- It helps you eat more new vegetables and fruits.
- You choose what fertilizers and pesticides come you are going to use.
- Harvesting time is within your control. Vegetables picked freshly from the garden have more nutrients than the vegetables brought from the supermarkets.
Planning is very important when you start backyard gardening. Here are few tips about developing your own food garden:
Know your space- the primary step of effective garden planning is to fully know your space. The ideal garden needs good soil, must get 6-8 hours of sun exposure, and has open space for the plants to grow healthy.
Think about your planting goals- once you assess your space, you will need to consider your planting goals. Think around how much time, exertion and budget you need to put into your plot. Few plants take more support than others.
Choose your seeds- once you've got an idea of your goals and plant measure, it’s time to choose your seeds. The USDA plant hardiness zone map can help you to decide what plants will thrive in your zone and will make it simpler to select the proper plant varieties.
Make an outline- Following your garden plan. Seed packets frequently incorporate spacing in terms of traditional, farm-based row cropping, so using a plant spacing chart can assist to decide how much space you would like to leave between your seeds for perfect gardening. Making a calendar and to-do list for your plant — with assignments such as planting seedlings, setting up your open air space and transplanting seedlings — will moreover set you up for success.
If you don’t have space to cultivate at home, a community gardening is another alternative. You need to discover an ideal space in your area. In that way, you will be surprised with the pleasure in engaging gardening as well as taking its benefits. So, what are you waiting for? It’s time for you to start now!
PNFP- Karla P. Calapardo, RND
References:
1. your own food is a hands-on way to lower your foodprint.
https://foodprint.org/growing-your-own-food/
2. Backyard gardening: grow your own food, improve your health
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/backyard-gardening-grow-your-own-food-improve-your-health-201206294984
