The Importance of Gardening In The Global Warming Era

You have heard about global warming. You have heard the debates about buying local and buying organic and you have probably tried not to give it too much thought. The truth is that every solution that is provided to you seems to be flawed one way or another: organic is expensive, local is expensive and sometimes neither is very fresh when a new shipment of apples just arrived from Chile. So what is a concerned citizen of the world to do when faced with such a dilemma? Plant your own garden of course! It may seem to be a bit of an overreaction to the threat of global warming, but the fact is that it is the simplest and most direct way to make an impact.

You can change as many light-bulbs as you want, buy a hybrid car and stop using plastic bags but you are still not doing as much as you could for the environment. This is not to say that any of those things are useless, they are simply pieces of the healthy planet puzzle. If you really want to change the world, start in your own back yard. If you don’t have a back yard because you live in an apartment building or are planning to move soon, you can plant food in pots and grow it on your counter tops or in your stairways. Gardening vegetables and fruits has never been easier. You can even reuse your food waste in the form of compost to help your plants flourish.

“But I don’t have the time!” you say.

What about those hours you spend watching television? You might think that you are resting or relaxing while you are sitting on the couch watching a rerun. Be honest with yourself, doesn’t it feel better to be actively doing something that will enrich your life and the planet? Sometimes just gardening: weeding or planting seeds is the most relaxing of all. Think how amazing it is to be able to put a seed in some earth in a pot and to watch it grow slowly and then suddenly only 8 days later the plant is already taller than a leprechaun? Now that is rewarding.

“I can’t afford to garden!” you remind yourself.

Gardening may have some upfront costs such as purchasing tools, pots, good soil and some seeds. But once you have these you are practically home free! You can use the seeds from the vegetables you grow this year to plant more next year. You can reuse the same pots, reuse the same tools. You might even be able to find some good soil near where you live. On the flip side you should consider how much money you will actually SAVE by planting and growing your own food. You will no longer need to buy salad materials and you will probably have enough fresh herbs, tomato, cucumbers, zucchinis and lettuce to last you until late fall. You can also freeze extra tomato and other vegetables for use during the winter. What more economic methods of attaining food than that?

Don’t let any excuses get in the way of your reconnection to this beautiful planet. Grow your own food. Save the planet. Be healthy. It’s a win-win-win solution.