Why Should You Grow a Food Garden?

 

Right now in our world, growing some of your own food is something that many of us long for. A few reasons that immediately spring to mind are:

• You can control if your food is organic or GMO.
• You can control how fresh your food is
• You can teach your children and grandchildren where food comes from
• You can grow interesting, new foods that you have never tried before
• The average food travels 1300-1500 miles from farm to your table. Picking food from your own back yard is good for the environment!

I would like to share with you and excerpt from an essay from on of my favorite books. Living on the Earth by my late friend and mentor Bill Duesing was published in 1993. What Bill wrote about is still relevant today.

Bill's wife Suzanne taught 5th grade at Hallen School in Bridgeport, CT. Together they had a food garden planted, cared for, and harvested by the students.

Bill asked 28 students to list some reasons to grow a garden. This is what they said!

These children want to garden:

•    To eat
•    For beauty
•    For health
•    To provide a use for food wastes, that is, compost
•    To see something new
•    To have fun
•    To earn money 
•    To feed others
•    To become more responsible
•    For experience
•    To learn
•    To feel good about themselves
•    To produce more seeds
•    To do something good for the environment- you have to drive and can avoid packaging if your food is near your home
•    To keep busy
•    To save energy
•    To impress family and friends
•    Because fresh vegetables taste better
•    To win contests at fairs
•    Because the food is fresher and more nutritious

 

Wow! Can you imagine! So many insightful, wonderful observations and ideas. I hope some of these students (who are now 33 years old) still remember digging potatoes from the soil and making French fries, having salad parties, and Farmer Bill's wise and gentle words of gardening wisdom.

 

May this inspire you to teach any and all children you come in contact with the love of gardening. 

 

And by the way, you can still buy this book online! Check it out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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