Test your green thumb with these gardening audiobooks
Plenty of people are searching for new, healthy routines that give them a chance to focus on themselves and add some positivity to their days. Growing your own fresh vegetables is therapeutic, relaxing and a great way to add healthy, flavourful produce to your diet.
A vegetable garden sounds like an ambitious project, but growing your own food doesn’t have to be a challenge. Vegetable gardens can be surprisingly low maintenance, and you don’t even need a backyard to start one. From herbs to hearty vegetables, there are tons of things you can grow on a balcony or even a windowsill.
How Vegetable Gardening Can Change the World
Vegetable gardening is more than a personal exercise. It can also be a foundation for building stronger communities. That’s what Will Allen explains in , the story of Allen’s personal journey to kick off an urban farming revolution.
When Allen, a former professional basketball player, left his marketing career at Procter & Gamble, he purchased a two-acre farming plot in his hometown of Milwaukee, just outside one of the city’s largest public housing projects. The neighbourhood was a food desert: an area where it’s difficult to find affordable, healthy fare, usually dominated by convenience stores and fast food, and lacking grocery stores and supermarkets.
The urban farming movement is about providing an alternative food supply that’s closer to the community. Urban farming improves public health and makes fresh, healthy food available in places where it’s hard to access. Of course, you don’t have to join a movement to make small changes. Just starting your own garden will improve the quality of the food you eat. It might even bring you closer to the neighbours. After all, who else is going to eat all the extra squash that you’ll inevitably have on your hands?
Your Garden Is Your Sanctuary
The garden is a sanctuary for those who love getting their hands dirty, planting seeds and watching them grow. It’s not just about the work, though. It’s also a chance to be alone, mindful and calm. But a lot of first-time gardeners stress out about unexpected problems like pests or animals sneaking in and digging up bulbs. These are some of the same anxieties former First Lady Michelle Obama experienced and talks about in .
American Grown is one of the reasons for vegetable gardening’s growing popularity. Back in 2009, the First Lady planted a kitchen garden in the White House’s South Lawn. This became the inspiration for American Grown. The story starts with her anxieties and concerns as a novice gardener but expands to inspiring stories of gardening and fresh food movements across the US. This is a listen that will help you through the struggles of first-time gardening and learn the simple joys of growing things.
