Gardening has been an important activity throughout history. Of course, the face of this hobby has changed in recent times. Subsistence farming is no longer necessary thanks to modern technology. However, ideas like gardening, homesteading, and living sustainably remain popular concepts due to the many benefits that these activities bring to both the earth and ourselves.
In its most basic form, a sustainable lifestyle simply means living in a way that can be pursued without seriously impacting the environment or our neighbors. Let’s take a look at some of the ways that gardening helps in the struggle for sustainability.
Environmental benefits
One of the most obvious benefits of a garden is that it is sustainable. Gardening removes the need to grow and transport food half a world away. Gardens help clean air, filter water, and enrich the soil.
But not all gardens are the same. In fact, creating an eco-friendly garden can take a bit of knowledge and effort. It’s tempting to use chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers to keep your garden safe from pests and your plants growing. However, it doesn’t take much research to realize that all three of these have some pretty nasty side effects. They are hardly the kind of thing you want to be spraying all over your food.
It’s also easy to turn on the hose and pour an endless stream of water into your garden in an effort to hydrate it on a regular basis. But once again, this is not the best option if you’re aiming for sustainability.
Taking time to research alternative options is critical if your garden is going to make a positive impact on the environment. Collecting rainwater in a barrel to help with watering the garden is a good way to lower your water use. Options like hydroponic gardening allow you to recycle water and cut out the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Practices like this are the best options for recycling large quantities of wastewater in an environmentally positive way.
There are many natural options to repel insects and fertilize your crops. If you’re dealing with slugs, you can mix a salt water spray and spray down the pests whenever you see them. Make sure to remove weeds and debris that could provide a breeding spot. If you need something stronger, consider mixing your own organic garden pest control. While they may not always be as potent as their chemical alternatives, taking the time to learn about solutions like these can help you take better care of the earth and yourself.
Sustainable practices like these are why gardening can be a big upgrade from the environmentally unfriendly methods used by large farms. Remember that most produce has to travel dozens and even hundreds of miles. Your food, on the other hand, only has to make a short, eco-friendly trip from your garden to your table. It’s clear that sustainable gardening is the environmentally respectful option.
Personal benefits
Of course, the benefits of gardening go beyond providing a sustainable practice that respects the earth – just check out the gardening and tree service in Round Rock to see this beautifully showcased. There are also benefits that humans can earn from gardening as well.
For example, the health advantages of getting outside, using tools, and working on a regular basis as you tend to your garden are good sources of exercise. Physical activity is becoming vital as many Americans struggle with poor health related to heart disease and diabetes. Issues with being overweight also continue to plague the country, with 40% of American adults being diagnosed as obese between 2015 and 2016.
The exercise involved with gardening provides the perfect solution. The natural allure of gardening, unlike traditional exercise, makes it easier to maintain while providing many of the same benefits.
Gardening also can be good for your mental health. The simple act of tending to a garden naturally creates a sense of mindfulness and awareness that can help reduce stress and anxiety levels. Being more aware of your activities also means each time you tend to your garden, you’ll do so with a greater purposefulness and consideration to the environment.
Community gardens: bringing it all together
Community gardens are a great way to get everyone involved. They bring together many of the benefits previously discussed in one beautiful group effort. They even have the added benefit of providing advantages like:
- Increasing the community’s access to fresh produce and naturally improving their health.
- Creating a public hotspot for exercise.
- Giving the entire neighborhood an area to compost, naturally reducing waste in the process.
- Improving the quality of the air as well as the soil of the gardens.
Gardening for the greater good
No matter the size of your gardening project, there are many different ways to incorporate gardening into your life. Each of these options comes with the added natural benefits of being sustainable and helping you remain mindful and physically fit. It doesn’t matter if you’re being introspective or thinking of the greater good, gardens provide a host of benefits across the board.
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