Container Gardening

Getting outside and doing something that you enjoy is just one way to improve your health.  I had the opportunity to learn about container gardening and raised bed gardening, and it definitely made me want to try.  Have you heard about it?

Wouldn’t it be really neat to grow your own fruits and vegetables and know EXACTLY where your food was coming from?  I sure think it would. However, it takes time, energy, and some knowledge to make it happen.

A raised bed garden is similar to container gardening, but on a bit of a bigger level.  You can either build a raised bed, or build one. Container gardening is just that, growing something in a container.  You don’t even have to go outside in order to grow your own garden.

Benefits

There are many benefits to growing your own food and flowers.  The first one is the pride that comes with harvesting the vegetables, fruits, or whatever it is that you are growing.  Gaining a sense of pride that something can be accomplished can start in one area of your life, and flow into other areas.  If you can succeed in gardening, what else can you succeed in? I personally feel this in my gym life. The more I can accomplish at the gym, the more I want to try to accomplish in all areas.  I kill it in the gym and that makes me want to kill it with my nutrition. The same can be true with gardening. Harvesting what you have grown can push you to try growing other fruits, veggies, and flowers, or see what else you can adapt to work for you.  

Another benefit is that gardening can be relaxing, which reduces stress.  Many people garden as a way of relieving stress. A third benefit that I want to lump with this second one is “grounding” yourself.  Both of these promote a healthy life. Grounding is the act of touching and connecting with the earth. Most of the time you hear about people standing barefoot in grass.  Grounding, or earthing, is making direct skin contact with the earth.

More on grounding

Many research studies are starting to uncover the healthy and healing benefits of grounding.  Results are indicating grounding helps with reducing inflammation, healing your gut microbiome, and even helping with your circadian rhythms and jet lag.  Just by connecting with nature! How cool is that?!

Okay, back to gardening

One last benefit that I want to touch on, before moving on, is that of knowing where your food is coming from.  Nowadays, conventional farmers are using herbicides and pesticides to kill the bugs and bacteria that often kill plants.  If you grow your own food, you know EXACTLY what that plant has come into contact with. The less chemicals that are introduced into your system, the better the health.

For many years, rehab programs have used the art of gardening to improve health because of all the benefits it has.  There is even an entire branch of “horticultural therapy” because of the benefits. Horticultural Therapy uses interaction with nature to grow and cultivate plants.  It is even considered as a moderate-level physical activity that builds strength and cardiovascular muscles.

Container Gardening

Container Gardening is the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to bring something to a working height.  They can be used inside or outside to grow almost everything imaginable. Lack of space cannot be an excuse to not garden.  If you are new to growing plants (pick me, pick me!) it is suggested to start small. It can become overwhelming when you are just starting out to grow too many things.

Knowing what to plant, when to plant, and how to nurture it is the difference between success and failure.  Starting small, with maybe 2 or 3 plants is ideal for beginners. Local programs are set up to help anyone wanting to garden.  I highly suggest looking at what your area offers!

I am not a gardener as I have a hard time at keeping house plants alive.  But, I really like the idea of harvesting my own fruits and vegetables.  Maybe for now I’ll just try to keep my plants alive, but I did buy a mint and parsley plant.  We will see how I do with these herbs and maybe, in time, I will move to an actual vegetable.

As always, leave me some feedback either here, below this post, e-mail me (megs@thewheellifeblog.com), or on any of my social media platforms! (FB/IG/TW @wheellifeblog and Snapchat @megsh8).  I would love to hear from you and what I can do to help.

Let’s keep those happy thoughts, productivity and self-care going!  Live honestly, passionately, and with kindness!

Megs