Change for the Better
Going to a whole food diet is not the “radical dietary option” it used to be…
A whole food diet is one that consist of eating unprocessed and unrefined foods like grains, nuts, seeds, fruits and veggies. Well, how is this different from organic foods? Whole foods contain little to no additives. Organic food, on another note, are grown and/or raised without pesticides, growth hormones or bio-engineering.
There are many benefits that can come from eating a whole food diet like loosing weight, lowering your blood sugar levels, improving digestion and immunity, and reducing muscle pain. Aside from overall becoming more healthy, strong, happy and energetic.
So how do we get there?
Monitor the kinds of foods you’re consuming. When you’re at the grocery store be sure to read the labels, or scan the products into the “Yuka” or “Think Dirty” app. Buy raw ingredients and cook them yourself. Or cultivate your own small garden if you have space.
Now growing your own garden isn’t as easy as you think, there are many steps to prepare. In most climates you will experience a limited gardening season, using and maintaining a hobby greenhouse will be the solution to extending this short time. Using a greenhouse will provide you with many benefits like allowing you to grow tropical, rare or special plants, provides a protected place for seedlings and other tender plants to grow and be protected from pest, and of course allows you to harvest year-round.
There are many things to consider when choosing a greenhouse and cultivating a home garden. You will need to consider styles, location, size, foundation, climate and good airflow and ventilation. Without adequate care and control, a greenhouse can easily become too hot or too cold for plants, overly humid, or even encourage pests and disease. In the 17th century, greenhouses where historically brick or wood with portions of windows for heat. Modern day greenhouses are mostly made of glass or plastic. This design is to maximize the sunlight for plants to grow. When it comes to choosing your own greenhouse, the options are endless so be sure to do your own research. Either way, you will need to think about how to provide adequate airflow.
Choose a location with plenty of sunlight. Plants need light after all! You may need additional grow lights to help with starting seedlings or in the Winter season. It is ideal that there is a water source or hose within reach, or you can carry watering cans. The addition of shelves or benches will elevate your greenhouse and be ideal for raising seedlings. Design them in a U shape, lining three walls of the structure. This will allow for a door opening and work space. Overall you want your foundation to be sturdy and protected from weather.
Contrary to popular belief, the greenhouse alone cannot provide an ideal environment for plants. The glass or plastic will help but you must add some controls of your own. The goal is to keep the temperature in the greenhouse consistent. It is extremely helpful to have a thermometer inside and monitor it daily. Generally, in the summer season you want your greenhouse to be anywhere from 75 degrees fahrenheit to 85 degrees fahrenheit during the day and 60-76 degrees fahrenheit at night. In the winter season, this changes to a 65-70 degrees fahrenheit range during the day and about 45 degrees fahrenheit at night. You can cool the greenhouse down in a variety of ways including… opening the greenhouse door, installing a roof vent, fans, a shade cloth or dampening down the structure. You can warm up the greenhouse with special grow lights, space heaters and sunshine. Some glass and plastic are not the best at retaining heat so, to take advantage of thermal mass heating, store large containers of water inside your greenhouse as an extra heater and frost protection. Don’t forget to have plenty of fans for ventilation.
There are many bells and whistles, so to say, to add to a greenhouse. In this blog we covered the basics to avoiding toxins, dyes and chemicals in the grocery stores by starting an at home garden. Be sure to start small and choose foods that you and your family will use and enjoy eating. Making changes and being responsible for your own food can be challenging but I promise it to be very worthwhile and an overall enjoyable investment. Choosing a hobby that can involve your whole family, improve and sustain the same family and teach valuable life lessons all at the same time, is a change for the better.