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Article by Anneliese Kuemmerle, MS, RDN March 2025
Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Family and Community Health Sciences
The days are getting longer, and hints of spring are in the air. It is the perfect time to start thinking about the summer garden. Will you be growing a garden this year? Hoping to reap the rewards of a few containers on your porch or patio? Gardening can support our health in many ways. Let’s dig into a few of the benefits a garden has to offer.
Gardening gets us moving. Raking, digging, planting, watering, weeding, and carrying bags of soil count towards the physical activity we need each week. These activities get us bending, stretching, squatting, lifting, and walking. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans call this combination of aerobic, muscle strengthening, and balance activities “multicomponent physical activity.” Multicomponent activities are especially important for older adults. They help improve physical function and lower injury risk from falls.
Gardening also has mental health benefits. Researchers have found that gardening has a positive effect on measures of well-being, reduces depression and anxiety symptoms, lowers stress, and increases cognitive function. People who garden report increased quality of life, social connections, and self-esteem. Growing a garden allows us to cultivate a space we can enjoy. This can help us unlock improvements to our environmental wellness.
Of course, we can’t talk about the health benefits of gardening without talking about the harvest. When we grow our own food, we can harvest produce at its peak vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant content. It doesn’t get much fresher than yard to table. While it is impossible to grow everything that we eat, having bonus backyard herbs and a few favorite vegetables matters! Fresh produce within walking distance of your kitchen increases the likelihood that you will eat more vegetables.
Getting kids involved in gardening can get them excited about vegetables. Studies show that children who help out in the garden are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables. They are also more likely to try something new. Peas and green beans have large seeds that are easier for little hands to plant. Orange cherry tomatoes are a fun kid-friendly crop. A carrot harvest can be an exciting treasure hunt for little ones.
Growing your own food can also help offset your grocery bill. If this is one of your goals, focus on growing what you already buy. Grow vegetables with the highest price tag at the store. For example, herbs, tomatoes, and peppers cost more per pound than onions and carrots. If you don’t have a lot of gardening space, growing a container herb garden can pack in a lot of savings. The plastic sleeves of individually packaged herbs can cost as much as $2.49 each. If you purchase a couple every week, they add up to almost $260 a year! Starting plants from seed can help keep your gardening costs down. A single packet of seeds can provide many plants for less money than the price of a single plant.
If you are new to gardening or need help along the way, Rutgers Cooperative Extension is here for you! Don’t hesitate to call the Horticultural Helpline. For Cape May County residents, dial 609-465-5115 extension 3653 for answers to your gardening questions. We also teach in-person classes. In addition to learning, our classes are a fun way to meet like-minded people. Next month, we are offering two sets of classes. Our Eat What You Grow class series is about gardening and how to use your harvest in the kitchen. Jen Sawyer Caraballo, Agriculture and Natural Resources Program Associate, will be teaching Planting and Plant Care. This class covers different planting methods and how to keep your garden plants healthy. For more information, visit: https://capemay.njaes.rutgers.edu/, call us at 609-465-5115, or email us at capemayag@njaes.rutgers.edu. Happy growing season!