10 Benefits of Home Gardening (And why you should start)

Besides providing you with fresh organic food, a home garden will also give you access to a variety of other benefits.

And the good news is: gardening isn’t as hard as some people think and you don’t need to have an ample space to get started.

So today, we will take a closer look at the 10 benefits of gardening for you, your family, and mother Earth.

Let’s get started.

1. Gardening have positive environmental impacts

Planting is naturally good for the environment.

Plants absorb greenhouse gases which is a vital component of their growth and maintaining the balance of gases in our atmosphere.

Now, imagine the impact if we have a garden in our homes. If a single plant can do it, we should start planting more.

A garden, no matter how small, is also essential for biodiversity. A healthy garden will attract different life forms that contribute to the soil’s quality and fertility.

However, avoid using toxic chemicals or artificial fertilizers on your garden because these will drive away the inhabitants of your garden, compromising its biodiversity.

Chemical fertilizers will also cause pollution and may contaminate groundwater.

Keep your garden as natural as possible to maintain its positive effect on the environment.

2. Home gardening helps in waste reduction

You can compost organic waste from your kitchen and turn it into compost.

This way, you will minimize your trash while having a natural and organic fertilizer.

Composting is one of the best fertilizers for plants, and it is also a very effective way to reduce waste at home.

You can achieve a natural and healthier harvest by composting for your garden and takes you a step closer to having a zero-waste household.

3. A home garden helps you eat healthy

Having a home garden will give you access to fresh fruit and veggies.

What qualifies as fresh? Well, nothing is more fresh than a fruit or greens you picked yourself from your garden.

And with fresh produce steps away from your door, your grocery trips will also be lessened, which means?

Emissions produced by cars will also be lessened!

Produce from your garden is also healthier than grocery goods since the process of producing commercial fruits and vegetables often involves the use of chemicals and artificial fertilizers.

Having access to a personal garden also saves time and money.

Though building up your garden may be costly, your fresh produce supply will be endless in the long run, as long as your garden is healthy and well-maintained.

4. Gardening helps you acquire new skills

Planting, growing, and harvesting may sound easy, but they require skills.

Different kinds of plants have a specific way of planting. And when they grow, they also have different ways of maintaining.

Home gardening will give you the opportunity to learn new things in taking care of various plants.

Here are some examples of methods to propagate plants:

• Seed propagation – This is the most common way of plant production.
• Cutting – Plant parts will be cut and then regenerated to a whole new plant.
• Division – It is done by digging and dividing the plants to be moved to another prepared site. This is only applicable to certain plants.
• Layering – This is done by covering a bent branch with soil and letting it grow roots. After it has its roots, it will be cut to form a new plant.

There are far more advanced techniques in planting that require deep knowledge.

But for beginners, the methods we shared above will suffice.

Naturally, you can have a more bountiful harvest as you get better at various gardening skills.

5. A home garden can be as source of medicinal plants

Gardening will also give you the opportunity to have access to medicinal herbs for simple kinds of illnesses.

Some medicines from the store indicate that it is infused with herbal ingredients.

Most medicinal herbs are not that hard to grow, and their scent is naturally therapeutic.

They can also serve as natural protectors to your garden because they can repel pests and weeds.

A few examples of best herbal plants for garden are:

• Oregano – It can aid common colds and coughs. It is also suitable for constipation and diarrhea.
• Lemon balm – It can relieve stress, anxiety, insomnia, and other sleeping disorders. It can also boost cognitive function.
• Peppermint – It helps improve digestion. It has antibacterial properties that freshen breath and relieve headaches to enhance concentration. 
• Lavender – It can reduce blood pressure and heart rate. You can also use it to promote hair growth.
• Ginseng – It can improve brain function and erectile dysfunction. It can also boost the immune system and lower blood sugar.

With any of these medicinal herbs in your garden, you can prepare herbal tea and first aid for minor ailment remedies.

6. Home gardening provides personal and health benefits

Gardening has a lot of positive effects on our health.

Some of it may not be too noticeable at first, but we will show significant improvements as we consistently maintain our gardens.

Below are some of the importance of home gardening to nutrition and health:

• Positive Mood – Studies have shown that several people with depression symptoms improved their state after participating in a 12-week long gardening intervention.
• Strength Booster – Gardening can be associated with exercise, which can help build strength.
• Sharper Memory – Exercise can improve brain activity, and studies have also shown that gardening protects your memory and triggers brain growth factors.
• Lower Risk of Heart Attacks and Strokes – Routinary activities that boost our mood lowers the stress on the cardiovascular system, reducing the chance of having a heart attack.
• Improves Self-Esteem – As you have a consistent positive mood, your self-esteem will improve as you watch your garden blossom. The idea of creating something fruitful will make us feel good about ourselves.

We can all be living proof that these benefits are actual by starting our garden. It can be a form of therapy for us and the environment.

7. Garden will give you access to free Vitamin D

Gardens need sunlight, and as we attend to our gardens, we obtain free vitamin D from the sun.

Vitamin D is essential because it boosts our immune system, protecting us from various diseases. It also helps maintain strong bones and teeth.

Vitamin D has more specific benefits for us. These are a few of them:

• It helps regulates insulin levels to prevent diabetes. 
• It provides a solid protective barrier against flu.
• Vitamin D can influence genes that can generate cancer.
• It is vital for better lung function and stronger cardiovascular health.
• It is suitable for babies and pregnant women.

Though most of us can acquire vitamin D through many food supplements, It is still better to get it from the sun. Too many tablets can be a burden to our liver.

Gardening is a perfect opportunity to get vitamin D for free. It is an activity that both benefits us and our planet.

8. Gardening can be a fun family activity

Gardening can be a family activity, and every family member can also enjoy all the benefits we have enumerated so far.

As the adults do most of the hard work, we can assign simple tasks for the kids like assisting with tools, watering the plants, and putting seeds in the hole you dug.

Gardening can be one of your list for green parenting.

Starting a home garden can also save your kids from being glued to their gadgets, which might negatively influence their behavior and is terrible for their health.

Moreover, the absence of exercise and vitamin D in a kid’s routine will decrease their immune system and develop weak muscles.

So start a garden with your kids and reap all the benefits of home gardening we mentioned above.

9. A garden can help kids develop a sense of responsibility

Having a garden is like having pets, but a little more complicated.

Preparing food for a dog won’t take that much time but cultivating a few plants is more complex and time-consuming.

Maintaining a garden will develop a sense of responsibility for you and every family member.

For example, weeds that can overtake the nutrients in your garden should be pulled regularly before it does actual harm to your plants.

You can assign this responsibility to your kids.

(You can then use the pulled weeds as compost)

Developing a sense of responsibility is a character that is essential for our kids so they will learn to stand up for their actions, and become a more reliable and responsible member of the society.

10. Home gardening helps achieve a more sustainable future

How sustainable would it be if we had a neighborhood with gardens?

Gardens come in different forms and sizes.

Even apartments can have a mini garden or a hanging garden.

Because the harsh truth is that as time goes by, cities consume forests, slowly turning them into a cemented jungle.

We are civilized this way, and sadly, we are not in control.

Having a garden at home may not be sufficient to recover what we have lost, but if a whole community participates in this cause, we will have a more sustainable and greener future.

Starting with a single plant and work on your way to a mini garden.

Someone in the neighborhood who starts a mini garden can lead to a conscious community that promotes ways to benefit our environment.

And that “someone” could be you!

Final Thoughts

There you have it folks, the 10 amazing benefits of home gardening.

And while home gardening will require effort to build and maintain, it will be worth it.

Many people take gardening for granted but if only they know the many benefits of home gardening, they will probably be eager to start one.

You can be the instrument so more people will be encourage to start a home garden a together, we can build a more sustainable and greener planet for our kids and future generations.

Gardening Frequently Asked Questions