Feed the Valley! The Gardening Initiative. Now is the time to grow more of our own food and increase our food security. Learn what you can do!

“He who plants a garden, plants happiness.” ~Chinese Proverb

He also plants valuable food safety and security!

Given the potential impacts that COVID -19 may have on our food system, there has never been a better time to grow more of our own food to increase and enhance our food security.

During this surreal and uncertain time, we’re all looking for things we can do to bring stability and “normalcy” to our every day.

A great activity that will bring not only immediate benefits but throughout the months to come, is to grow a vegetable garden.

We all know that there’s really no comparison between the taste of a store-bought tomato and one picked fresh from the vine – one is often mealy and flavourless and the other bursts with texture and delicious goodness. When we bring fresh produce from miles and miles away, it can be days, if not weeks, between harvest and when it makes it to your table. The process can’t help but compromise the freshness and quality of the produce we buy.

Benefits of vegetable gardening

It can seem a daunting task to many of us, for sure, but growing your own garden is actually not as difficult as it sounds. Perhaps you don’t have a yard, or the space to grow a full garden – a small and tidy patio garden or even pots of herbs on your kitchen windowsill will be deeply satisfying. You could be surprised how many tomatoes or leaves of basil you can harvest from one pot throughout the season!

Here at From Scratch we nurture a small patch that provides lots of fresh herbs, veggies, flowers, and more to our seasonal dishes!

There are a variety of benefits to growing your own garden of fresh veggies, both the planting and the eating!

• Great exercise, outdoors. Gardening is a physical activity that can be as rigorous as you make it! Simply raking and hoeing rows, pulling weeds, planting, and digging can burn as much as 400 calories per hour.
• Gardening helps relieve stress. Being outside and active in the fresh air and sunshine is as great for your mind and spirit as it is for your body. Wonderful for mental health gardening is a great way to unplug and connect to the earth – something we rarely have the opportunity to do in this Internet Age! It can improve your mood, helping to make you feel happier and more at ease. Growing your own fruits and veggies also provides a great sense of achievement and mastery.
• Better for your health! In addition to the benefits of actively creating your garden, consuming more fresh fruits and vegetables is integral to your overall physical health. Harvesting fresh offers you the highest concentration of vitamins and minerals compared to older, well-traveled store-bought produce. In addition to freshness, you also avoid consuming harmful chemicals – you’ll know exactly what you’re eating when you pick a basket from your garden. BONUS: get the kids involved and witness their increased appreciation and taste for fresh fruit and veggies, especially if they planted and nurtured them to fruition.
• Save on your grocery budget. A garden of fresh veggies all summer long will have a tremendous impact on the amount you’ll spend on groceries. Think ahead and plant fall root vegetables and extend the savings just that much longer. Growing your own organic vegetables costs a fraction of what you’d spend in your grocery store.
• Enhanced food security. You know where each and every piece of produce came from and how fresh it is! No matter what happens on the big-agriculture front – contamination, weather-related shortages, and transportation issues, for instance – you know you’ll be enjoying a consistent supply of fresh, delicious, healthy fruits and vegetables.

Feed the Valley! The Gardening Initiative wants you!

Here’s how you can participate in shoring up our local fresh food supply and security:

• Plant a family garden. You may have heard of the Victory Gardens that were planted during the First and Second World War. In 2011 the “dacha” gardens of Russia produced 40% of the nation’s food. We can do just as well!
• Double your impact. If you are one of the fortunate ones that have a garden plot that is bigger than you need or that can be enlarged, partner with a family that is not so fortunate and share the work and the harvest.
• Start a Youth garden project. You can do that on your own or with a group of friends. The WDFI Farmers’ Market at the Crossroads will waive the stall fee if you want to sell your product.

For more information about The Gardening Initiative:

Please contact Alison Bell at Columbia Valley Food & Farm or Hedi Trescher at The Gardening Initiative or call 250-346-3226.