To Grow or not to Grow

It’s not easy growing your own food especially vegetables; believe me I’ve had more failures than I have had success but I’m not ready to believe I don’t have a green thumb yet.

Collaborating with Rebecca, Greenhill Living is about combining our equally as passionate learnings to teach others of the benefits of growing & consuming more plant-based fare. It’s not about the making of a market gardener or a vegan but more about the making of someone who is more consciously aware of the lifecycle of food to benefit the health of our planet and one’s self.

The Planted Gardner

Over the past few weeks I have listened and observed Rebecca in the garden, her natural flare and oneness with the earth’s soil and natures plants. My mind has been overwhelmed with the creatively of sowing a seed and watching it grow; gardens aren’t complicated we just need to know (loosely) what we are doing.

My learnings

Time to head back to school and by this, I mean to read an educational food book that is going to assist me learn about the cycle of food. For this I started with the first in the Gaye the Garden Girl Seasonal series “The Carrot and the Ladybirds”.

One of my questions when it comes to planting a garden and watching it grow is; “do you pluck the whole vegetable from the ground (or garden bed) once it is ready to harvest?”

Thanks Gaye the Garden Girl, my question answered was in this straightforward learning tool (how good are books?)

Just like magic

By no means have to earned my green thumb yet, at the moment it’s kind of like a mustard yellow but it’s turning and that’s the beauty of growth. There’s much to benefit from and be proud of when you start planting out your own food source. A few benefits are:

• Gateway to improving your health & wellbeing
• Saves money on groceries
• Has you spending more time in nature
• A natural stress reliever
• Eco-friendly & sustainable
• Helps minimise waste
• Naturally taste better

Sowing, growing and harvesting is like a form of magic. I promise you when you ‘grow your own’ you will understand why it’s so magical to eat your own produce.

The Planted runner

I liken growing vegetables to endurance running. Sometimes easy, sometimes hard and sometimes a complete failure that has you questioning your ability to perform but despite all of this, you never stop learning or trying.

Nature is unpredictable; that is what makes this pastime so exciting. Growing your own has a mixture of both jubilation and despondency but it these mixed emotions that make being human so enthralling.  This is called survival “the state or fact of continuing to live or exist, typically in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances.”

Take responsibility

All generations; from young and old need to be mindful of the growing responsibility required to learn to be self-sufficient. It’s not a privilege to grow your own food but a necessity. The importance of knowing where our food comes from is paramount to our connection to the earth and the importance of eating earths gold is just as important.

Rebecca and myself, Amanda goal is to have everyone just that little bit more excited about produce; to think green, eat green and be greener. It doesn’t take much and you definitely don’t need to start big; the beauty in all of this is growth. 

As the book says “The End….and the beginning….”

Learnings

To read more about Rebecca of Greenhill Living and her Gaye the Garden Series books click here and to bring those learnings into your kitchen (from plot to plate) visit our recipes page where we are adding new inspiration seasonally.