anne mottola

benefits of growing your own
fruits and vegetables

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Benefits for you and your family:

• Fresh and nutritious fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables from your own garden are higher in nutrients than the ones that have traveled several thousands miles to get to your grocery store.

• Having your children assist you in the garden can increase the chance that they will eat more of the fruits and vegetables they have helped to grow.

• Growing your own fruits and vegetables can offer you the opportunity to reduce the amount of pesticides that you use in your garden, making
  them healthier.

• Growing your own fruits and vegetables will save your money at the
  grocery store.

• Gardening increases physical activity. It is a great way to engage the whole family in physical activity and lets them help to take responsibility for
  the garden.

• The fruits and vegetables grown in your garden will promote health because they are rich in nutrients, especially in phytochemicals, anti-oxidants, vitamin C, vitamin A and folate.

• Gardening gives you’re a real sense of appreciation when you can see the bounty of your efforts.

• Growing a garden gives you a new appreciation for nature, when you can have the opportunity to see how things grow.

• Gardening may stimulate many new interests. You may want to learn
  more about botany, landscape architecture, photography, nutrition, and farmer’s markets.

• Gardening gives you the opportunity to give back. If you have an abundant garden, you might give some of your produce to the local soup kitchen or food bank.

• This can be a great time to create memories with your children, memories that can last a lifetime.

• Your garden can lead to new skills, and knowledge for you and your family, your child may have a new found interest to become a chef!

Society and Community

• Gardens can foster a great sense of community through parent to parent connections, teacher to student or student to student.

• Schools and community may decide to build a community or school garden. This is a tremendous learning tool for all involved as well a providing a source of nutritious fruits and vegetables.

• A community/school garden can help to foster and motivate future leaders (e.g., 4-H after school programs).

• Neighborhood Community Gardens beautify landscape, support local farmers, can create a food secure community where residents do not need to rely on vendors to supply fresh produce.

 

Environment

• Tall fruit trees provide shade.

• You can use less pesticides or use natural pesticides and this will be less contamination to the environment.

• Produce peels and waste can create a lot of green waste and takes up a lot of space in the garbage can. Recycle them to make your own compost. It is less expensive than buying fertilizers.

• Turn unsightly lands into attractive landscapes.

• Get creative. There is a potential to grow an innovative garden like futuristic horticulture gardens that are very cost-effective and require substantially less space.
  
  http://articles.extension.org/pages/27731/benefits-of-growing-your-own-fruits-and-vegetables