One can’t even begin to stress the importance of growing your greens and veggies. In this world of highly adulterated food, setting-up a Kitchen Garden is probably one of the best investments that a family could make in their health. Below are a few benefits of growing your greens and veggies.
Much higher nutritional content
Crops start losing nutrients as soon as they are harvested. A study by the University of California shows that spinach loses 100% of its Vitamin C content within four days post-harvest. Peas lose 51% within 24 – 48 hours. This often means that the fruits and veggies that you buy at your retail shelves are devoid of much nutritional content. You can access this study here. On the contrary, fruits and vegetables from your garden have much higher nutrient content as compared to the ones that have travelled several thousand miles to get to your grocery store.
Inculcating healthy eating habits in Children
Children are curious by nature. They love to learn new things. Getting your kid involved in managing your Kitchen Garden will not only ensure that you get to spend quality time with her but will also inculcate a sense of responsibility and ownership in her. And once your kids know that the greens and veggies are coming out of plants they have grown, the chances are high that they will prefer eating more of the greens and veggies they have helped to grow rather than gulping on junk food.
Highly effective natural air filter
Plants act as a natural filter taking in Carbon dioxide and other pollutants and giving fresh Oxygen. In today’s hectic urban life, one of the major problems we deal with daily is a high level of pollution. A kitchen garden next to your balcony may not only help in improving your indoor air quality but may also help in reducing your stress level by adding greens to your surroundings. In a housing society, if everyone makes good use of their balcony or courtyard to plant greens and veggies, then both, the quality of air and the decor will improve drastically.
Herbs are detoxifying
Fertilizers and pesticides have become part of our food chain so we must add herbs in our food which detoxifies the chemicals from our body. Few herbs and veggies which are either detoxifying agent or are easy to plant are coriander, mint, tulsi, celery, fenugreek, spinach etc. Although we can buy these herbs from the market, we will never know what pesticide or harmful chemicals were used in growing them. So better to grow these herbs at home.
Cut down on food waste
How many times have you bought a bunch of exotic celery or lettuce or rosemary most of which ended up in a trash can as all you needed were only a few leaves and not the full bunch? How many times have you wanted to buy the exotic salad greens but stopped yourself because the quantity available on retail shelves is much lower than what you needed? With a Kitchen Garden, one may use only as much as needed ensuring zero wastage and 24x7 access to fresh herbs.
Go ahead. Make a fresh start. Set-up your kitchen garden.
Happy Growing!