The grocery stores are filled with GMO, non-organic foods laden with chemical pesticides. We know they are bad for our gut health and adds to the toxic burden in our body.
Organic food is the best but the organic food in the market are significantly costly and also are sprayed with more chemicals to make them look good from the time of harvest to table. USDA organic also does not guarantee that the organic plants are not exposed to any toxic pesticide 100% of the time. Organic oranges have 20% more vitamin C content than non-organic ones because they have developed more immunity to ward of pests than inorganic ones in which the pesticides does that job for the plant. The vitamin C content also deteriorates rapidly from the time of harvest be it organic or non-organic. So from the time of harvest to us getting it on our table significant amount of nutrients are lost. When we buy produce from the store we are also not eating a variety of foods. In olden days they ate seasonal foods because only that was available. This helped get variety into the diet and helped gut biome diversity. But these days we eat the same set of 10-15 fresh produce items throughout the whole year because its available throughout the year in the store.
The best solution to resolve all these issues is growing our own food. We can save a great portion of our grocery bill if we were to grow our own food. This also results in less waste and it is good for the earth and environment. Farm to table is within minutes so the foods retain most of the nutrients. And added benefits of gardening – you get a step closer to nature, get the grounding needed for the day and its greatly therapeutic and reduces stress. You get the vitamin D from natural sources if you spend time in your garden daily.
You do not have to have the perfect space, weather and soil to have your own garden. If space is an issue just a herb garden in few pots is good enough to make a difference. You can get garden towers in which you can grow almost all the herbs needed for the household in a very small space, even inside the house. Start with the plants that grow easily in your zone. Join the gardening groups in the area. Some of them would have information about any community exchange programs. You can trade your excess produce for something else fresh and organic that someone else produces. If you are interested in gardening but are limited by space, you can find the community gardens that the government leases per year at a nominal rate. You can even form a small group with your friends and together lease a plot of land and grow food on it.
Recently my husband set up a beautiful garden for us. Garden beds made from scratch, organic soil rich in nutrients and earthworm, for the most part we do not use any fertilizers at all. This is our second year. We grow a lot of moringa, okra, curry leaves, spinach, Amaranth, some leafy greens , lettuce, eggplant, tomatoes, sugarcane, banana. And some squash, pumpkin, watermelon and cantaloupes. we are getting better slow and steady at this because closer to nature is the best medicine and lifestyle change for our kids and future. Meanwhile we prefer getting our produce at the local farmers market and meat at local butchers. Raw milk and eggs from local farms.