The Benefits of Home Gardens

Home gardens are a small-scale subsistence agriculture systems that are established by households to obtain and supplement food needs. The garden plots are usually comprised of fruits, vegetables, tree crops, medicinal and ornamental plants as well as livestock.

Numerous studies have shown that beginners gardening at home provides multiple advantages to families with limited resources. These benefits include economics and nutrition as well as health, sustainability of agroecosystems and health.

Nutritional Benefits

Gardening at home is essential for ensuring nutrition and food security, according to various studies. They can provide a range of nutrients, supplement the staple food items, decrease "hidden hunger" and prevent disease due to micronutrient deficiency and boost the livelihoods of families and their income. They also provide ecosystem services and are often a way to promote community resilience to crisis situations.

In Java, Indonesia, for instance, 7 percent of the time spent by people in the garden flower that accounts for 44% of their total calories consumed and 32% of protein intake. This is a much more valuable quality than paddy rice which is only just 6% of households' total calories consumed.

Home gardens provide a variety of vegetables, fruits and tubers as well as minerals including iron, calcium, folic acids and vitamins (especially vitamin C). This allows you to maintain an optimum diet and allows families to fulfill their nutritional needs at a relatively low cost.

Some gardens are designed to produce high-value crops, such as spices and herbal products that can be sold on the market. This has provided an additional source of income for households with low incomes particularly women, while improving their nutrition and health. Some households have also integrated livestock and poultry into their gardens, to increase the supply of animal protein.

flower gardening at home is often the best strategy to boost food and nutritional security in post-crisis circumstances. In the time of drought in Tajikistan in 2010, a lot of households were able to use their gardens for a variety of vegetables and herbs that they grew to supplement their emergency food storage. They also grew beans, which were affordable and formed a large portion of their food supply. This helped them avoid malnutrition and hunger and ensured a healthy diet while reducing their dependence on imported food. This was an essential lifeline for families who were severely affected by the conflict, facing economic hardship and unemployment.

Economic Benefits

Gardens at home provide a wide range of advantages, including income generation and food security. They offer a constant and constant supply of fresh fruit vegetables, herbs, and spices as well as animal products (e.g. milk and eggs) in addition to many ecosystem services like soil fertility and conservation of water. These multiple benefits make home gardening an attractive sustainable agricultural practice, particularly in developing nations.

The role of the garden at home as a source for staple food items and as a buffer against food insecurity has been well established in various studies. The research has proven that kitchen gardens provide a steady flow of food for consumption within the family as and supplementary income through the sale of produce to markets. These earnings can be used to fund other essential needs like education, health care, and savings.

A literature review shows that women are the primary beginner gardeners in home gardens. This is a sign of the cultural norms that place a high value on women's contribution to food production and nutrition for the family. Women's involvement in the administration of home gardens helps them develop proficiency related to gardening and plant practices, which enhances their agronomic competency and contributes to meeting the needs of their families [4141.

The study by Rowe also revealed that home gardens can be a great way to supplement the diet of families that reside in densely populated and degraded areas and have limited croplands. They do this by increasing the availability of high nutrient-dense food items, thereby enhancing the balance of diet and improving health [5253.

Due to their geographical location and horticultural structure, home gardens are often described as low-tech and low-cost agriculture systems [53]. They utilize local resources like soil, water and plants to accomplish their objectives. This helps reduce investment and operating costs in comparison to the cost of buying commercially produced food products and creates economic benefits by decreasing household expenditure.

In addition to providing a diversified source of food and income, backyard gardens also promote the development of rural areas and encourage entrepreneurship. They have proven particularly effective in fragile and post-conflict situations. In Tajikistan for instance that gained independence after a long civil war, and natural disasters such as drought, home gardens were an important tool to reduce the poverty and ensure food security for the population.

Medical Benefits

Many studies across the world have proven that home gardens provide multiple social and cultural as and economic benefits. They include improving food and nutritional security as well as improving human health and capacity, generating income, empowering women and protecting natural resources. Home gardens also contribute to ecosystem services including habitats for pollinators and animals and nutrient recycling, which reduces erosion of soils and protection of watersheds.

Gardening at home is now a part of many developing countries' agricultural landscapes due to their wide range of benefits. For instance, in upland areas of north-east India and Latin America, home garden cultivation is often an indigenous ethno-ecological (TEK) response to a declining fertility of soils and site degradation from changing practices in agriculture [9].

Home gardens are not only important for sustainable food production, but they also play an important role in decreasing the 'hidden' hunger associated with micronutrient deficiencies. Wiersum et. and. mention that the presence of different fruit trees in home gardens allows families to access an excellent, vitamin and mineral-rich diets, allowing them to avoid illnesses caused by deficiencies.

In countries that are transitioning or have been through an outbreak of conflict, gardening at home can help improve food security, nutrition and even living conditions. This is due to the fact that it's flexible, affordable, and adaptable, especially for women-headed families. For example, Rowe found that in Tajikistan which was a country that gained independence from the Soviet Union and was tormented by the economic crisis and civil war households ate basic food items from rations, but relied heavily on home gardens for a variety of other fruits, vegetables and tubers (such as cassava and yams) to add to their daily food intake.

Additionally to that, the cultivation of medicinal plants in the homes gardens has been a significant source of medicines and treatments for numerous ailments in many developing countries. Traditional herbal medicine that is local is often cheaper to produce than pharmaceuticals. This makes it more accessible for the poor.

Environmental Benefits

Home gardens are small-scale subsistence agriculture systems that provide food and other household items. They typically consist of an assortment of trees, garden at home shrubs and perennial plants and herbs, spices and ornamental species. They are also an important source of income, especially for those with a limited budget.

Home gardening is a better alternative to commercial agriculture which is dependent on chemical inputs. They also help to preserve biodiversity and natural resources.

A garden at home can serve as a natural habitat for wildlife like birds, insects and other species that depend on it to survive. It protects them from harsh environmental conditions like severe sun and wind. Additionally, a garden flower at home can reduce noise pollution caused by traffic from busy roads. The tall plants in the garden can help absorb and deflect the noise waves thereby helping keep the peace in the neighborhood.

In light of the increase in environmental concerns, more attention is being put on establishing and improving local food systems. Gardening at home is becoming more well-known as a viable method for providing local food services and ecosystem services. A myriad of studies show positive impacts on nutrition, food security and income generation particularly among poor families in urban and rural contexts.

Furthermore, studies on the social implications of gardens at home also show positive effects on the welfare and social standing of household members particularly women. In the Achuar community of the upper Amazon region, for example, garden at home a woman’s ability to keep a garden full of flowers increases her social standing.

Home gardens are a great way to build resilience in the event that you are faced with food shortages or crises. They provide an affordable, sustainable alternative to expensive imported food. They can also be an engine for change and growth by empowering disadvantaged communities.