Gardening Benefits

There’s an old proverb - "If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime." Basically, it’s better to teach someone how to do something than to do it for them. In the long run they’ll be able to take care of themselves. This same principle is being put to work through several food bank garden projects around the country where low income people are learning to grow their own food in small, raised-bed gardens. In fact, gardening advocates have reported that more and more people from all walks of life are showing a strong interest in growing their own food. Thankfully, the majority of gardeners are more than happy to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for gardening with others, leading to a whole new crop of home gardens, school gardens, and community gardens. There are numerous garden workshops, master gardener classes, and university extension resources out there to help the beginning gardener. The upsurge in gardening has been attributed to food safety concerns, poor economy, and the desire for sustainability, which I’m sure are all contributing factors. But for me, it’s the sheer pleasure and beauty of growing plants.