Maggie Evans 
One of the most notable things during the fall is the ripe and fresh produce from the gardens. Nothing beats the awesome scenery and beauty when the morning sun sets its rays on a ripe tomato or the sight of green spinach that is still watery from the morning dew. The market, which is always flooded with fruits and vegetables might appear like a convenient place from which one can get the farm produce. However, growing the products at the backyard garden for personal consumption is clearly the ultimate option going by the numerous health benefits they present. Here are more benefits of growing fruits and vegetables at home, which might just convince someone to pull out their gardening tools and seeds.
Full Control of the Crops
Growing fruits and vegetables for personal use affords an individual the chance to control the end product that best suits their needs, at the table. They decide which fertilizer is best, and they get to employ excellent pest control methods. One also gets to determine whether to grow the products naturally or genetically modify them. Ideally, growing the products naturally is the best option because the market already provides the G.M.O products.
Also, naturally grown products come with extra health benefits. For instance, natural products contain a small amount of pesticide, which is unlike the conventional fruits and vegetables that are grown with multiple herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. Organic farming is also extremely friendly to the environment. This practice that involves the use of reduced amounts of chemicals, and sometimes none, goes a long way in preventing soil and air pollution while also improving soil fertility. Lastly, naturally grown fruits are rich in taste as they’re harvested when ripe, unlike genetically engineered fruits that are picked untimely and stored to ripen. To have a full benefit of fresh fruits and vegetables it is recommended to consume it raw either by eating as a salad or by extracting a juice out of it. One thing to consider before extracting the juice is that the juicer is highly efficient and powerful to extract all the nutrients from fruits and vegetables.
Improved Home Aesthetics
A fruit and vegetable garden in a home’s compound adds color, life, and beauty to the environment. The smell of ginger, the sweet aroma of ripening oranges on your orange trees and the view of crisp cucumbers are a beautiful invitation to pollinators and people alike. The pollinators also come with added benefits; for example, butterflies, which are attracted by the blooming petals are a great entertainment source for children. The same butterflies rapidly pollinate other plants, making the garden to grow rapidly. For the home occupants, the attractive smell does wonders to their bodies. Inhaling the fresh air produced by the plants makes one feel rejuvenated, improves their mood and they end up generally happy.
Cost Effectiveness
Another superior advantage of growing fruits and vegetables for private use is the reduced food expenses. The cumulative cost of seeds and labor is nearly equivalent to the price of single fruit and a handful of vegetables from a local store. Growing one’s own produce makes even more economic sense when one considers the cost of fuel spent when driving to and from the grocery shop. Besides, homegrown fruits and veggies make leading a healthy lifestyle a walk in the park. The reason being, one doesn’t need to spend much on these products, thus they will have more access to them. With plenty of fresh fruits and greens in the garden, all a family needs to do is have healthy homemade drinks from the comfort of their homes.
Gardening Is a Great Family Activity
Gardening is an extremely family-friendly and fun activity that is even healthy for kids. They can have fun getting their hands dirty while also learning how to place food on the table. Weeding, planting seedlings and watering the plants present a great way of getting family members off the unhealthy comfort of the couch. Moreover, the various activities in the garden including digging, pulling out weeds and planting are enough to burn a few calories. Gardening also alleviates stress levels in individuals. Ideally, after a stressful day, it would be prudent to visit the garden and dig out unwanted plants to avoid sitting idle. Also, the slow process through which plants go before reaching maturity helps one to improve their level of patience and also triggers positive thoughts.
Consumption of Fresh Products
Products picked straight from the garden like ripe fruits and mature vegetables can best be described as fresh. Such produce is not only more delicious, but also nutritious. Why? The nutritional level of fruits and vegetables significantly decline when picked ahead of time. Vitamins such as A, B, C, and E, are more available in mature fruits and veggies. Other factors like artificial light, exposure to air and change in temperature also contribute to the decreased nutritional value in the farm products. Shortly put, the longer fruits and vegetables wait to ripen and be purchased from the grocery store, the more nutritionally useless they become.
Comparing the benefits of garden-fresh produce and products purchased from a grocery store can take a decade; the benefits associated with this are endless. For instance, the products sold in a grocery store are often derived from farms located miles away. This means that it takes them days to finally reach the dining table, which boils down to a significant decline in their nutritional value. Also, the poor quality products from the store surprisingly come at a high price. Yet, these products are not half as healthy as what comes from people’s private gardens.
