Benefits of Gardening

Gardening is beneficial to body, mind, and soul.  It provides me with healthy and nourishing food free from insecticides and herbicides.  I have fresh food from the garden to the table throughout the year.  At any given time, I know exactly what went into the soil and I'm able to nibble on the vegetables in the garden without having to wash them first.

Gardening provides me with full body exercise:  I am stretching, pulling, bending, and reaching for the various vegetables and/or the weeds.  What a better place to exercise than in the fresh air under a blue sky and letting the wind play with my hair.

Another benefit of gardening is educational.  It entails doing research and sometimes even attending seminars about e.g. attracting bees to the garden.

Gardening is to some degree experimental, trying new cultivars and to find out what those vegetables require for best growth, development, and harvest.

Finally, according to the Journal of Health Psychology, gardening is on the top of the list for improving the mood and decreasing cortisol level.  The cortisol is often referred to as the "stress hormone."

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Preparing the Fall Garden

The summer is about to come to a close; the children are back in school; vacation is fading into a memory; and it is time to prepare the fall garden or at least seriously consider gardening. Here are a few considerations for gardeners.

Location of the Garden:  It would be ideal to have the garden close to the kitchen door.  Wouldn't that be convenient?   In your selected spot, will the vegetable plants compete with trees and ornamental bushes for nutrients?  What about the traffic pattern?  Is it out of the way from children playing football or tag?  Does your garden interrupt the lawn cutting?

Sunshine for Your Garden:  One important aspect of gardening is sunshine.  Consider that the plants need at least six hours of full sunshine daily.  The only way to be sure is to track the sun for about a week to see what areas the sun covers. My preference is the morning sun.

Size of the Garden:  What is the purpose for your garden?  I have asked myself many times why do I garden?  The garden provides us with fresh vegetables around the year.  There is always something growing and ready for harvesting.  What is fresher than vegetables directly from the garden to the table?  My husband declares that "we eat damn good."

Benefits of Gardening:  Since it is only the two of us in our immediate family, we have a surplus of vegetables from time to time.  We take it to the Senior Citizens Activity Center and we share with our children when we visit them.  It's a win-win situation.

Also gardening provides time outdoors and exercise.  Gardening is not for sissies:  it is hard work turning the soil and weeding. When you are out there on a sunny morning, you are are also getting the benefit of the sunshine and natural Vitamin D.

          It is still too early for the fall vegetables to appear on the shelves at the garden centers.  After all, this is the sunshine state and setting out plants too early may dry the plants out or scorch them. The weather is still hot and humid.

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