Advantages of Gardening

1347 Words6 Pages
The Advantages of Gardening Ryan T. Kennedy COM/170 October 16, 2013 Oleah Morris The Advantages of Gardening Home grown produce is better for an individual, both physically as well as mentally, rather than bought from a grocery store. Produce grown in a backyard garden or bought at a farmers market is what is known as “fresh” and not “flash-fresh” like at the grocery store. The term flash fresh means that “produce is picked from the vine, shipped to grocery warehouses by train and or tractor trailer, and then flashed in an industrial ventilation closet to make it appear ripe” (Dusty Bosh, Associated Foods warehouse). The source went on to say “once produce like bananas is placed into these industrial ventilation closets, ethylene gas is forced into them thru air ducts for up to 24 hours to speed up the ripening process.” During this process fitted respirators and other safety equipment must be worn by an individual to access these closets. Although directly off the vine, from the backyard is as fresh as one can get, without obtaining safety equipment or introduce harmful chemicals to make it appear ripe. The rewards of fresh produce are almost limitless; however, this paper will point out the most popular. There are a couple of rewards when growing a garden or “gardening,” they are self-accomplishment and bliss. The ability to watch one’s hard work grow into plants is a reward to itself, the ability to see the produce grow gives visual individuals the feeling of self-accomplishment as well as peace of mind. A licensed social worker interviewed stated “gardening brings a feeling of bliss that is almost Zen like, it is such a strong form of therapy that a large majority of psychotherapists around the world prescribe it to many of their patients diagnosed with high stress and anxiety” (Brad Drown, LSW). He went on to say “there is just something about working

More about Advantages of Gardening

Open Document