Not only can your landscaping be for the eyes but for your stomach too. It’s, as the name suggests, landscaping, but it’s edible! It’s a buzzword for growing your own food crops in your backyard, also called foodscaping.
Veggies, fruit trees, herbs, nut trees, edible flowers or medicinal plants, all of these can be a great addition to your edible landscaping project.
But why would we bother to grow our own food when it’s so quick and cheap to buy vegetables at the supermarket? There are heaps of benefits to growing your own veggies, and we are going to detail some of our reasons below!
Why should you foodscape?
DIY Organic
In recent years we have seen a massive rise in the popularity of organic produce to avoid nasty pesticides, additives or chemicals. Many shoppers wouldn’t even consider buying a product unless it is organic and non-GMO certified.
By growing your own veggies, you ensure you have the most organic produce ever; you know exactly where it’s coming from and any products you used to keep pests away. It doesn’t get more organic than that!
Easy to achieve
You don’t need a large outdoor area to start your own foodscaping garden, despite what you may think. Whether it’s on the front land of your home, a balcony or even your roof, there is an opportunity to grow your own edible garden.
Vegetables like beans, beets, chillis, lettuce, onions, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes can easily grow in containers and pot plants! Tight on space? Find your nearest community garden and enquire about a section of soil to grow your own veggies.
Cost-saving
Are you wanting to buy strictly organic produce but not willing to pay the added costs? Organic produce is no doubt better for us. It’s fresher without the nasty additives. But when you’re buying it from the supermarket, it comes at a higher cost than non-organic food.
By growing your own food, you ensure the organicness of the produce and cut out the middle man. By spending a few dollars on seeds and plants and putting in the time, you can have a fruitful garden yielding your produce all year around.
Better for you
When you buy produce from the supermarket, it has taken a long journey from when it was picked fresh. Once your veggies have been harvested, they are packed, transported, and stored before sitting on our shelves. During all this time, it is losing it’s nutritional value. Food in it’s rawest; freshest form is the healthiest way to enjoy your fruits and veggies.
Food for your soul
By getting your hands dirty, you are embarking on a project where you not only are investing your time into an edible landscape and watching it grow, but you are consuming your end product! It’s a great way to stay active, get your dose of Vitamin D and a fruitful hobby to undertake. It’s also a great activity to teach the kids where their food comes from and something they can take responsibility for.
We love this quote by David Hobson, “I grow plants for many reasons: to please my soul, to challenge the elements or to challenge my patience, for novelty, or for nostalgia, but mostly for the joy in seeing them grow.”
Good luck on your foodscaping journey! Please don’t forget to tag us in any pics of your edible landscaping design; we’d love to see what you’ve been working on!