You want a hobby that will stretch your muscles, allow you to soak up some much-needed Vitamin D, help you reconnect with the person you once were and you want a hobby that will produce tangible results. The hobby you are looking for? Its gardening.
Gardening has been blooming in terms of popularity quite regularly in the last decade or so and thatโs largely due to the fact that society as a whole is more concerned with the food that they put not their body. People want to live a greener lifestyle and they want to incorporate more organic, natural ingredients into their diet. The unfortunate truth is that you just donโt know when it comes to purchasing fresh produce (vegetables and fruit) from the grocery store, how it was grown, in what type of soil was it grown and what was used to keep the pests away from the harvest.
Letโs Dive In
Another reason people are turning to gardening in their own personal space, either on their porches with vertical gardens, is by setting up gardening pots on their rooftops or in their backyard. They do this because they are looking to reduce their carbon footprint as the environment is in crisis mode as global warming becomes a viable threat. Growing your own food increases sustainability for the environment as it helps increase the oxygen levels in the atmosphere. In addition, it reduces carbon emissions from transporting the produce from place to place and even helps reduce monthly food costs for families.
Physical and Mental Benefits
Gardening is one of the more intensive hobbies out there, in terms of physicality. You will spend your time bending, stretching, squatting, reaching and lifting but the funny thing about gardening โ it never feels like a workout. This could be because you arenโt going through a monotonous routine or having to listen to an instructor put you through the paces. It could be because of the sun shining on your skin and the wind ruffling through your hair but whatever the reason, there is no denying thatdaily exercise has benefits that clinical studies havenโt even begun to uncover.
Mentally, gardening is amazing. It reduces tension in the body, allowing stress to dissipate while calming the mind through the repetitive nature of maintenance tasks. It allows for only feel-good feelings and allows the gardener to learn responsibility while feeling accomplished when they see the results of their physical labor.
Environmental Benefits
Installing a garden in your backyard, whether a vegetable, fruit or flower garden is, can have a substantial positive impact on the environment. The greener things that are on this Earth, the better off all of the population will be. With numerous reports surfacing of global warming, climate change and how it will affect not only our but future generations; the environment needs all the help it can get in terms of stabilizing itself.
Trees and shrubs have been proven to turn carbon dioxide emissions into pure oxygen which means that theeco-friendly things you plant in your garden, the more oxygen you are sending into the atmosphere. This increased oxygen level not only helps repair the ozone layer (and the existing holes already in it) but it also improves air quality, reduces pollution and allows animal/insect life to function easier; allowing for a repopulation.
You can increase the environmental benefits that your garden will have by using homemade compost to decrease your weekly garbage collection that is sent to landfills, using various forms of water collection for watering the garden beds (think a filtered barrel that collects rainwater for outdoor use) and even using your harvest to put food on a less fortunate member of your communityโs table.
Conclusion
Whatever your reason for setting up a garden in your backyard, it is strongly encouraged that you have the right tools and supplies on hand for maintaining your plants. You will definitely want to have gardening gloves (preferably with padded fingers/palms) that protect the hands, a sturdy kneeling pad that will protect your joints during those long weeding sessions, a strong steel topped shovel for removing stubborn weeds and shifting through tightly packed earth, and you want to have a wheelbarrow on hand to make the transporting of supplies, water jugs, soil and whatnot smoother.
Another good thing to have on hand is a nail-gun, especially if you plan to surround your garden beds with wooden braces to ensure stability. If you have a greenhouse on your property or a grow tent in your garage for starting your seeds early, a nail gun can make repairs fast and efficient. Want to know about the best nail guns on the market? Then read here.
Take your time to map out your perfect backyard garden and revel in the feelings of accomplishment that will course through your veins when that first tiny but green sprout breaks through the surface of your garden bed. Enjoy seeing the smiles on your families faces when they bite into a freshly grown salad or watch as neighbors and strangers alike stop to admire the roses; literally.
Article Submitted By Community Writer