Healthy Garden, Healthy You
Healthy Garden, Healthy You
by Bernadette Sukley
Nothing eases anxiety more creatively than gardening. And in this pandemic-panicky world, you need all the peaceful pastimes you can find.
But before you start digging, keep in mind three critical components of gardening:
- Zone. Zones are numbered areas that follow along the geography and climate of countries (The US zones are compiled by the USDA). These hardiness zones provide information about what plants will and won’t grow (read: survive) in your area. In the Lehigh Valley, we’re zone 6b. This number should correspond to numbers provided on seed packets and plant profiles. The zone will also let you know when to sow seeds to increase their chances of survival.
- Starting small. If you’re currently without a back yard, balcony or patio gardens are a great start. Patios look especially luxurious with an infusion of color. Mini sweet peppers and cherry tomatoes are ideal for pots on patios and decks that get sun all day long. And even if you have the room, it’s better to start small. Wannabe gardeners are easily overwhelmed by the amount of work a small vegetable garden requires.
- Googling before gardening. The cooler months are usually best for planning. Decide on the type of garden, select your crops, herbs or plants and hit the Internet. Does the plant do well in sunlight or shade or both? Is it an annual or perennial? What’s the best soil? What are the most common diseases and pests the plant is susceptible to? You may find you’ll need to revisit your choices, as certain plants may not be suitable for your location.
Seeds vs. Seedlings
It’s exciting to watch the seeds you planted sprout and grow. But you may be better off starting with seedlings. With seedlings, someone has done the planting and caring before you bought it. All you have to do is put it in the soil and keep it healthy.
Most fast-growing plants do well from seed. Slower growing plants, like dahlias, are best propagated from tubers or roots. And vegetables like potatoes cannot be propagated from seed—the “eye” (segment with small bud) of the potato needs to be plunked into ground.
To reduce the waiting period of germination, select a local farm or grower who has the plants you want in their inventory. Once it’s ready, you can transfer the plant from flat to garden.
Frustration at First Sight
There are days when it will seem like your harvest is most likely going to come from Wegman’s produce section. But be hopeful, most plants approved for hardiness Zones 5b, 6a, and 6b will grow in your backyard with a little fertilizer and patience. Also, be vigilant. Even if your plants haven’t poked their heads above the soil, you can still scout for snails and grubs. Nothing crushes the soul of a gardener more than munched-on leaves. If you are able, encourage beneficial insects like praying mantis, ladybug beetles and assassin bugs by planting yarrow, cosmos and coreopsis. These insects eat the bad guys (aphids, grasshoppers and potato beetles). Any leaves with spots, blotchiness or wilting should be noted and checked out. Diseases can thwart a plant’s ability to grow and produce flowers and fruit. Sometimes the fix is as easy as adding a little fertilizer.
Let it Grow
Be prepared to lose a few fights. Battles on the earthen front are hard fought. One overzealous gardener I heard of planted over twenty tomato plants only to watch a bizarre late frost decimate them all. What did she do? After a good cry, she replanted (only eight this time) a week after that frost. The healthy tomatoes produced enough tomatoes for her, her neighbors, and her coworkers. Losing plants is not always under your control. You’ll need to perfect your patience, pull weeds, punish pests and let the plant do the rest of the work of growing.
In our area, a late frost typically hits around April 17, but check the weather forecasts. As long as you cover already sprouted plants you can increase their chance of survival. You can also bring in the pots inside to a garage or shed. The first frost in fall is around October 10. So, you’ll get roughly 160 days of “growing season.”
Being Outside is Good for Your Inside
Gardens entail work, this is true. But the process of creating something that gives you visible results (hopefully) provides a sense of accomplishment. And you’ll notice a feeling of peace because you’ll be focused on your garden, not bad news about the economy or Covid-19. Studies have shown that gardening can reduce depression symptoms, blood pressure and anxiety. While it elevates mood and brain activity. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6334070/)
Being outside will also give you a decent dose of vitamin D, but always apply sunscreen. Gardening activities such as digging, raking, hoeing, and lifting all burn calories and are considered safe for those over age fifty.
Wearing straw hats and gloves isn’t a fashion statement. A wide-brim hat should cover your face and neck to minimize exposure to harmful solar radiation. A good pair of gardening gloves are barriers to thorns, sharp stones, and burrs. Wash your gloves to minimize the transmission of disease from one plant to the next. Invest in a sturdy plastic kneeler to protect your knees from rocks makes the task less painful.
Any small trees, hedges, and other plants you plant can also counter climate change by utilizing carbon and giving off oxygen. What’s in your garden is good for the world.
Journaling through the Seasons
Before you can enjoy your garden, plan accordingly. There’s a whole lot more to growing a garden than just seeds and dirt. And there’s a lot more fun too. There are gardening journals that can help you track all the details, like how much you water the plants, or if they’ve been watered by Mother Nature. Type and amount of fertilizer, as well as placement of a garden or pots for adequate sunlight (Best spot: south- or southeast-facing part of your property). Some journals give you sections to let you share your thoughts, feelings, and instincts about your little plot of paradise.
What to look for:
- Design. Some journals are laid out for one year or growing season others are for multiyear use. This is especially helpful if you want to consult your garden journal for next year—to recall what worked and what didn’t.
- Sturdy or pretty or both. Some journals have water resistant paper or covers that are waterproof. Some come with pen’s pencils and page markers.
- Space. Often garden journals will have blank pages for drawings and doodles or spots to tape in dried flowers or leaves. Some will include graphing pages to plan your garden to the last detail. And yes, there are delightful journals that come with stickers.
- Wisdom. Good garden journals will include reminders for when to perform seasonal tasks (mulching, pruning, replanting, etc.) Some have calendars tucked in the pages so you can plan ahead for seed germination, harvesting, cutting and overwintering your garden.
Journaling is perfect for rainy days and can give you the comfort of “continuing” your garden. That quiet time when you can “dig” into a perplexing problem or troubleshooting as well as celebrating the success of healthy germinating plants.
*Easy patio potted plant
Gather with Gardening Groups
Reach out to the experts when all else fails. These organizations and people can give you support and important tips for what you need to do (or not do) with all things green:
National Gardening Association, Pennsylvania. NGA is a national association with headquarters in each state.
The Pennsylvania Landscape & Nursery Association. PLNA is the trade organization, but they can be helpful to gardeners and growers.
The Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania. Within the Lehigh Valley, there are federated clubs of Allentown, Bethlehem, Emmaus, and Parkland.
Zooming-in on garden advice.
You can solicit help from gardeners across the globe for best ways to keep a healthy garden. Membership with certain organizations allows access to gardening pros. Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square allows members to virtually attend lectures and sessions to pick the brain of experts who’ve planted nearly every plant tree or shrub under the sun. Literally.
Photo credit by Markus Spiske (Upper Franconia Germany)
