Health Benefits of Successful Organic Gardening
Gardening is often thought of as a simple hobby to engage in to fill a spare day on a hot summer afternoon․ Yet there are greater rewards to gardening than one might expect․ Organic gardening magnifies these rewards‚ creating a mosaic of benefits for the gardener that touch on many aspects of life and health․ Because gardening involves the mind‚ the body‚ and the spirit‚ all three can be nourished by food‚ flowers‚ and the environment․ This makes gardening a wholesome and fulfilling way to live․ There are innumerable benefits to be gained from organic gardening‚ and this book will highlight them as we walk through our season together․
One of the most popular reasons for organic gardening is that fresh fruits and vegetables are one of the most nutrient-dense foods available․ Growing your own fruits and vegetables is a great way of making sure that you have a variety of healthy foods at your disposal‚ free of harmful pesticides and chemicals․ Not only is this the healthiest choice‚ but you are also guaranteed the freshest food possible and getting vitamins and minerals at their peak․ Organic vegetables tend to be higher in antioxidants and nutrients than those from the market as supermarket produce is picked earlier in order to travel without spoiling․ By growing your own food‚ not only can you eat it at the freshest stage‚ but you can see what has gone into it‚ and develop trust in your supply․
Support Mental Well-being with Gardening
Gardening is said to promote psychological healing․ Growing a plant from seed to harvest is satisfactory to the gardener and a contribution to healing from symptoms of anxiety and depression․ Gardening is also thought to promote mindfulness‚ a mental state of focusing on the present moment of digging in the dirt․ Evidence suggests exposure to fresh air and sunlight‚ such as by gardening‚ leads the body to release serotonin and dopamine‚ hormones already in the bloodstream that make a person feel good and clear-headed․ Not only that‚ seeing the fruits of your labor develop and thrive in your garden can help strengthen your confidence․
Organic gardening can be a good physical activity as well․ Tasks like digging‚ planting‚ weeding‚ and harvesting rely upon a variety of muscle groups‚ thus helping to cultivate physical fitness and cardiovascular health․ A few hours spent pottering about in the garden won't burn as many calories as an aerobics class‚ but you'll be surprised how many you burn․ Gardening is a great way to fit more exercise into the week․ A workout can often be banal or boring in its repetition․ However‚ there are many different tasks that can be performed in the garden․ As you learn the skills required to work the garden and build your strength through those tasks‚ you will also be helping your overall physical health and energy․
Reduce Stress with Organic Gardening
Growing an organic garden can be a way to relax and receive stress relief․ The green plants and natural circadian rhythm of the garden can help to reduce the stresses of everyday life for many people․ Doing this work is a great release from staring at a computer screen and being dictated to by deadlines and meetings․ When you're in the garden you're just watering a plant and cutting the leaves‚ and they're good meditative tasks․ They have a natural rhythm to them and they need no thought․ Just the feeling of the soil through your fingers‚ the fresh air on your lungs‚ and the sense of peace you get from the earth can help melt stress away․ With practice‚ you learn to deal with everyday stress․
Connecting with nature is named as a key component of well-being‚ and organic gardening gives life the opportunity to proceed naturally in an otherwise technologically dominated world․ By witnessing the constant cycling of production and decay that characterizes your garden‚ you may find yourself more mindful of the natural world and your place within it․ It can lead to a better understanding of how to keep your garden sustainable and more conscientious about the environment and how you affect it․ Understanding that we are stewards of this earth can inspire us to tend to the garden and through good stewardship benefit not just our own garden but the planet․
In short‚ organic gardening can have a lot of benefits both inside the garden and outside of it․ From the nutritional value you'll find in home-grown produce to the innumerable mental health and physical fitness advantages‚ any garden can provide something helpful․ Battling stress‚ re-establishing contact with the natural world and gaining a sense of achievement can all help us to realize the power we have to shape our lives‚ both literally and metaphorically․ Organic gardening can therefore be an extremely powerful way of restoring physical and mental well-being‚ and can be core to a happier life․ Every seed sown is not just a promise of impending food‚ but a promise of a healthier‚ happier‚ more sustainable life․
