If you have never considered growing your own fruits, vegetables and herbs, here are a few reasons to start now:

• Growing your own is delicious. Homegrown produce, such as juicy tomatoes, fresh-picked lettuce and sweet peas, are tastier than store-bought versions and also contain more vitamins and minerals.

• Growing your own makes it easy to eat organic. organic fruit and vegetables are nutritionally superior and are free from the pesticides and chemical fertilizers that are found in conventional produce. Many of these pesticides contain chemicals that have been linked to causing cancer and other diseases such as birth defects, nerve damage and genetic mutations.

  When growing your own produce, you known exactly what is in your food, and where it has come from. Organic gardening starts with the nourishment of the soil, which eventually leads to the nourishment of the plant and, ultimately our bodies.

• Growing your own is cheaper than store-bought produce. After some initial investment in tools, seeds and compost, the cost of home-grown produce is often cheaper than store-bought. By composting kitchen waste to make your own fertilizer, the costs can further be limited to new seeds.

• Gardening is educational for children. children learn the science of seeds and plants, how different fruits and vegetables grow, and what each plant's water, sun and nutrition needs are. Through growing their own produce, children are also motivated to eat healthier foods.

• Gardening is good exercise. Pulling weeds, digging, and hauling soil all provides the body with a good all-round workout, and tones both lower and upper body muscles.

• Gardening relieves stress. Spending time outdoors in green spaces such as the garden have shown to boost mood, improve sleep, reduce anxiety and stress levels.

No matter how big or small a space you have, fruit, vegetables and herbs can be grown anywhere, in a backyard, a windowsill, or in patio containers. By creating you own edible garden, you will reap physical, emotional, financial and intellectual benefits, as well as know exactly where your food is coming from.