Confession alert. I’ve never gardened before this year. But I’ve always wanted to because I wanted to really understand where most of the ingredients that I use in my soups and foods that I make were coming from and finally this year I took the plunge. 

I think of gardening as the ultimate connectivity. You’re connecting yourself to the food that you personally eat. You are directly interacting with the earth and cultivating it in a way that will nourish you. In my opinion, there’s not much better physically for your body than your exerting yourself which is a wonderful way to exercise.  Physiologically for your state of mind, both to reduce stress, connect to nature, and improve your mental well-being it has such a calming effect as well. 

Nutritionally you are able to determine what exactly you’d like to nourish yourself with and the health benefits from boosting your immune system, exposure to vitamin D, and interacting directly with the soil which yields medicinal results and improves your overall health. 

As someone who provides nourishment to others, with most of my ingredients coming directly from the soil, I think it’s extremely important to understand and appreciate how they are grown to provide maximum health benefits and optimal taste. 

This is why i believe in gardening, and why I started to garden.