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The Hollyberry Lady · 02-20-2011, 10:16 AM

5 Great Reasons to Garden...

As an emerging generation of gardeners with ideas of their own starts taking up the spade and digging in, now is a good time to reflect on the best reasons to get your knees dirty in 2011...

1) Garden for your Health: Much has been said about the benefits of gardening for your health. Bending & stooping in the garden provide all of the benefits of a good stretch without getting bored. Most people hate to take the time to stretch, even though they know it's good for them. Gardening can also provide good cardio: According to the National Gardening Bureau, studies show that "an hour of moderate gardening can burn up to 300 calories for women and almost 400 for men". Pushing a lawn mower is good; pushing a manual push mower is even better!

And there's also your mental health: Picture the earth like a sponge for your problems: You go out, dig a hole, drop a plant in, firm the soil around it and move on, leaving behind a tiny part of the stuff that was weighing heavily on your mind before you went out there.

2) Garden to Grow your own Food: Vegetables & fruits are a prime source of minerals and antioxidant compounds that keep you healthy, but a lot of us worry about what nasty substances are in the canned, frozen, and even the fresh food we buy at the grocery store. Growing your own provides the opportunity to control the process and ensures that the food you put in your mouth contains only what you want it to contain. And how much more local can it get than food literally grown in your own backyard?!

3) Garden to Share with those in Need: If you plant an extra row in your garden, your extra harvest can help feed people in need from your community. "Plant A Row, Grow A Row" is a people-helping-people program supported by gardeners across Canada.

Here's how to go about it...

Prepare the soil with organic matter or compost, which gives you a good start to a successful gardening season and a bountiful harvest. Plant vegetables & fruits that travel and keep well, including potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, peas, beans, tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions, eggplants, zucchini and beets. Harvest and thoroughly clean your produce. Contact your local community food program to donate your produce. For more information, visit...

Plant a Row • Grow a Row.

4) Garden to Pay it Forward to the Future: There are little people all across the country who have never been introduced to the fun of growing plants! Or the miracle of compost! Children can enjoy being involved in the family garden, especially if you keep it fun and give them the freedom to grow what they want in their own bit of ground. Whether you have just a couple pots of flowering plants or a large vegetable garden, the memories created there in the formative minds of young people should not be underestimated...

Many of the conversations people have over the years begin with some reference to the gardens and plants the remember in their childhood. So, share your passion for playing in the dirt. Where kids are concerned, there can be no argument that an introduction to seeds, soil, water, and sun is in order. The younger the kid is, the better.

5) Garden because you Owe it to the Earth: To be specific, you owe a debt to your soil: make sure you pay up! Making sure your soil is healthy & fertile will not only lead you to vibrant blooms and verdant foliage, but will also reduce your need for pesticides and fertilizers. Soil improvement may be a long process (2 to 4 years), especially if you are starting with very poor soil, but it's worth it. 90% of the success you enjoy in your garden is the direct result of proper soil preparation.

All soil benefits from yealy or bi-yearly application of fresh organic matter. It's recommended that you use no less than 3/4 to 1/2 inches of new organic material...finished compost, or if that is not available, well-rotted manure...to your beds each year, in the spring or fall. This amounts to 90 pounds (40 kg) of compost over a 100 square foot area.

Some gardening books insist that such soil amendments must be dug well into the soil, but this poses a problem for established perennial beds. You can simply lay the compost on top of the beds in the early spring before too much has come up. Earthworms and other soil organisms will pull the matter down for you. Consider them the 'foot soldiers' of the garden. And remember that these guys work for free!!!

: )

02-20-2011, 10:16 AM	#5 (permalink)
The Hollyberry Lady The Hollyberry Lady 's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 15,161 BananaBucks : 1,320,737 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 12,042 Times Was Thanked 11,326 Times in 5,311 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 102 Times	Re: The Old Farmer's Almanac! 5 Great Reasons to Garden... As an emerging generation of gardeners with ideas of their own starts taking up the spade and digging in, now is a good time to reflect on the best reasons to get your knees dirty in 2011... 1) Garden for your Health: Much has been said about the benefits of gardening for your health. Bending & stooping in the garden provide all of the benefits of a good stretch without getting bored. Most people hate to take the time to stretch, even though they know it's good for them. Gardening can also provide good cardio: According to the National Gardening Bureau, studies show that "an hour of moderate gardening can burn up to 300 calories for women and almost 400 for men". Pushing a lawn mower is good; pushing a manual push mower is even better! And there's also your mental health: Picture the earth like a sponge for your problems: You go out, dig a hole, drop a plant in, firm the soil around it and move on, leaving behind a tiny part of the stuff that was weighing heavily on your mind before you went out there. 2) Garden to Grow your own Food: Vegetables & fruits are a prime source of minerals and antioxidant compounds that keep you healthy, but a lot of us worry about what nasty substances are in the canned, frozen, and even the fresh food we buy at the grocery store. Growing your own provides the opportunity to control the process and ensures that the food you put in your mouth contains only what you want it to contain. And how much more local can it get than food literally grown in your own backyard?! 3) Garden to Share with those in Need: If you plant an extra row in your garden, your extra harvest can help feed people in need from your community. "Plant A Row, Grow A Row" is a people-helping-people program supported by gardeners across Canada. Here's how to go about it... Prepare the soil with organic matter or compost, which gives you a good start to a successful gardening season and a bountiful harvest. Plant vegetables & fruits that travel and keep well, including potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, peas, beans, tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions, eggplants, zucchini and beets. Harvest and thoroughly clean your produce. Contact your local community food program to donate your produce. For more information, visit... Plant a Row • Grow a Row. 4) Garden to Pay it Forward to the Future: There are little people all across the country who have never been introduced to the fun of growing plants! Or the miracle of compost! Children can enjoy being involved in the family garden, especially if you keep it fun and give them the freedom to grow what they want in their own bit of ground. Whether you have just a couple pots of flowering plants or a large vegetable garden, the memories created there in the formative minds of young people should not be underestimated... Many of the conversations people have over the years begin with some reference to the gardens and plants the remember in their childhood. So, share your passion for playing in the dirt. Where kids are concerned, there can be no argument that an introduction to seeds, soil, water, and sun is in order. The younger the kid is, the better. 5) Garden because you Owe it to the Earth: To be specific, you owe a debt to your soil: make sure you pay up! Making sure your soil is healthy & fertile will not only lead you to vibrant blooms and verdant foliage, but will also reduce your need for pesticides and fertilizers. Soil improvement may be a long process (2 to 4 years), especially if you are starting with very poor soil, but it's worth it. 90% of the success you enjoy in your garden is the direct result of proper soil preparation. All soil benefits from yealy or bi-yearly application of fresh organic matter. It's recommended that you use no less than 3/4 to 1/2 inches of new organic material...finished compost, or if that is not available, well-rotted manure...to your beds each year, in the spring or fall. This amounts to 90 pounds (40 kg) of compost over a 100 square foot area. Some gardening books insist that such soil amendments must be dug well into the soil, but this poses a problem for established perennial beds. You can simply lay the compost on top of the beds in the early spring before too much has come up. Earthworms and other soil organisms will pull the matter down for you. Consider them the 'foot soldiers' of the garden. And remember that these guys work for free!!! : )