• Lifestyle
• 22.03.2021

The definition of a garden can vary from person to person. For me, it’s more than just growing vegetables or flowers. Gardening is no less than therapy to me, from the scent of that beautiful marigold to the joy of seeing those fresh vegetables grown in my backyard. It’s also the simplest way to serve the environment and most importantly it fosters family bonding. Kids and parents working together in the garden can help families grow stronger.

In the early days, every household had its own gardening space. But gradually this practice became uncommon, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas and this job was left to a handful of people that lead to commercial gardening and chemically fertilized unnatural food. As Covid-19 compelled people around the world to stay indoors, a new domestic hobby seems to be blooming amongst many of us. With more time in hand, even a large number of urban citizens are opting for healthy hobbies and taking interest in nurturing their kitchen garden in their small terrace or balconies. I say why not? There is no comparison between the garden-fresh vegetables and those bought from the grocery stores, devoid of flavor.

Freshly grown vegetable from my backyard

When I was young, I saw my parents grow a lot of herbs & vegetables, and especially my mother took pride in feeding us healthy home-grown vegetables. During those times, I developed a love for gardening, and every-day I am trying to learn new tricks and techniques of eco-friendly home gardening. By far it was a notion that gardening needs huge areas, and it is very time-consuming. Well, it can be overwhelming at times, however, it’s much simpler than we think. Even if you don’t have a huge yard, you will be amazed at what all can be grown in a smaller space. Almost any type of vegetables that are usually grown in a typical backyard will also do good in small spaces or containers that you chose. The most popular ones are tomatoes, peppers, onions, lettuce, melons, etc.  Unlike the old times, we are gifted with the internet which is full of useful resources that can be referred to, as a beginner.

If you are still not convinced, consider these benefits of backyard gardening:

• Physical Health: Gardening work demands a certain amount of physical activity. Pulling weeds, seedling, digging, planting, watering can help burn around 400 calories an hour, considering the space. This in turn improves blood pressure level and can heal other health issues.
• Mental Health: Gardening can also benefit our mental well-being. Being engaged in nature is always soothing and when you indulge yourself in planning to keep those seeds, vegetables alive, nurture them to grow healthily, itself is a sense of purpose and pride. In the process of gardening, you also tend to develop positive planning strategies, which improves your focus on anything that you do. Disciplined gardening work surely is a mind booster and a way to happiness. Growing your produce also gives you a great sense of accomplishment.
• Eat healthy and fresh: Besides physical and mental benefits, gardening also helps to develop a lasting habit of eating fresh and healthier, which automatically keeps a check on your diet. When you have sufficient kitchen garden vegetables in your yard, you will not buy it from local vendors/stores. In recent times there have many cases of food adulteration and the only way to prevent it from harming us is to grow your vegetables on your own as much as possible.
• Develops a Friendly environment: When you can share a part of your own harvested produce with your friends and neighbor, it creates a strong bond. Many places also have community gardens where people gather to grow fresh veggies and flowers, share their experiences of success and failures. This helps in building a healthier neighborhood and most importantly community gardens can also donate fresh, nutritious produce for many underprivileged families who couldn’t otherwise afford it.
• Self -reliance: Amid the global pandemic, self-reliance has scaled new heights. It is not safer anymore to be dependent on restaurants or supermarkets for our food requirements. However, by adopting a suitable method we can vegetables that grow year-round. To name a few, root vegetables like beetroot, potato, carrot, etc. Many herbs as cabbage, broccoli, spinach is largely grown all year round. I believe we can be self-reliant to some extent if not 100% if we embrace the idea of having our vegetable garden.
• Building habitat in your Garden: Imagine the feeling of seeing a colorful butterfly, caterpillars visiting your garden every morning. It would be wonderful to transform your backyard into a habitat garden and in turn, you will be treated with the presence of Butterflies and Caterpillars, Bees, Ladybug, Crickets, Worms, Grasshoppers, Hummingbirds, Spiders, Frogs, and many more. Surprisingly, these beautiful creatures play a vital role in the health of your crops.

Author :  Heema Borah
Title Image courtesy: pexels.com