Organically grown food

Growing your own vegetables or fruits doesn’t just mean easy access to food, it also means that you get to control what goes into growing them. Commercially grown crops are often treated with pesticides and herbicides; although there have not been any major health scares recently over the use of these chemicals, we never truly know what these chemicals may be doing to our bodies. Being able to control the conditions in which your vegetables grow can help to ease any worries and doubts. Not to mention, the less pesticides and herbicides that enter the environment, the healthier the ecosystem will be. Besides, who wouldn’t want fresh produce right at their doorsteps?

 

Urban farming can act also as an incentive for city-dwellers to immerse themselves in healthy and active work. Yes you read that right! Gardening is often overlooked as a form of exercise due to its seemingly sedentary and slow-paced nature. But let’s not forget the fine motor skills that you could hone from curating your beloved plants, or the endurance you could build through the wide range of movements from squatting, digging, or lifting. It’s always good to get some stretches and light exercise in after a long day at the office.

Picking up a new hobby

The benefits of urban farming extend far beyond growing your own food, it can also improve your mental health. Interacting with the environment can help with relieving symptoms of depression and anxiety, and has been shown to boost self-esteem in children. A joint clinical research study by the National University Health System and National Parks Board in 2017 yielded promising results about the effectiveness of horticulture therapy (which includes gardening and guided nature walks) on the mental health and well-being of Singapore’s elderly. It can help to reduce stress, fear, anger, blood pressure and muscle tension in a natural and non-invasive manner. It’s no wonder why gardens have been increasingly used in various forms of therapy and ageing programmes worldwide.

Apart from that, urban farming provides a multitude of opportunities for you and your loved ones to learn more about nutrition and consumption behaviours. As you grow in your urban farming journey, you’ll come across a plethora of crop types, their various nutritional contents, and the styles of preparing and cooking your produce. It draws an incredibly dynamic and tangible linkage between your food source and the end-product on your plate. Don’t be afraid to venture beyond our recommendations and explore more novel and artisanal crops. It’s through the process of learning that we continually enrich our minds!

A new community

As you embark on the journey to grow your own food, you’ll have many chances to meet like-minded individuals with whom you can share your experiences and troubles (You can start at our forum right here!). Being part of a community opens up doors to meet new people and lets you tap on the collective knowledge that exists within the circle. Who knows, you could be the one sharing your expertise with other novice urban farmers in the future!

 

Integrating into a new community can boost happiness and bring positivity into your life. We strongly encourage you to reach out to our community of urban farmers here at Veggie-Table as you step into the world of urban farming. Invite your family and friends to join you in your urban farming journey and use it as an avenue to bring you and your loved ones closer together!

 

Picking up urban farming may seem daunting, but that’s precisely why Veggie-Table was created - to help you assimilate into the local urban farming community and kickstart your journey to better health!