grow your own garden
Posted on 23. Feb, 2010 by NakedCity in op-ed
words > CRAIG AINSWORTH
There is something primal, almost erotic, about thrusting your hands into freshly dug dirt and smelling the rich musky earth. This might be because gardening is one of the oldest human traditions, dating back thousands of years. Horticultural societies, who garden out of necessity, still exist around the world. They must grow a wide assortment of crops on their land to survive.
We get the luxury of fresh fruits and vegetables any time we want, even when they are out of season. This gives us the luxury to garden as a hobby, instead of for survival. However, in the midst WWII, during a time of strict rations and little food, 20 million Americans planted Victory Gardens on rooftops, patios, and in their backyards. Victory Gardens accounted for over a third of the produce in America that year. These gardens helped alleviate the strain on local markets and allowed many people to eat in a time when there was little extra food.
Times of financial strain are a wonderful time to begin cultivating vegetables. Gardening can greatly reduce the stress on your pocket book. Live tomato plants cost about $1 each, and they can produce 30–60 lbs. of tomatoes in a season. Much of this fruit can be preserved and then stored for up to a year before the quality becomes affected.
Fresh garden vegetables are much healthier for you. Lycopene is an antioxidant found in fresh red vine ripened tomatoes. Lycopene helps with bone and skin health. It also helps fight some cancers and expel free radicals. Most chain store tomatoes are picked green to prevent spoilage on the 1,500 mile journey to your store. After the tomatoes are picked, they are put into a box then doused with hormones to make them turn soft and red in the dark box on their long journey. Most of the tomatoes that are purchased from chain stores have little nutritional value, no Lycopene, and almost no taste.
Gardening reduces stress, tension, and anxiety while promoting good health for the mind, body, and soul. It will give you better dexterity and endurance, while enhancing strength and muscle tone. Also, imagining and creating a world around you that is alive and changing can be very satisfying.
Gardening is an inexpensive activity that will create lasting memories for your entire family. It allows you to eat healthier and live a more productive life. Growing your own food saves money and gives you a feeling of satisfaction and security, while passing down essential traditions to future generations.
There are two keys to successful gardening. First, the four things all plants need are dirt, air, sunlight, and water. The second key is moderation. Too much of a good thing—even water, dirt, or sun—is bad. Keep this in mind, and your garden will do fine.
February is the right time to decide where you are going to plant your garden. Your garden will need about eight hours of light a day to stay healthy. As you look for a spot to cultivate, think about what your yard will look like in four months. A spot that looks perfect in March could be completely shaded in July. As spring turns to summer, the bare trees will fill in with green leaves. The afternoon sun that comes in at an angle in February will be almost directly overhead in June.
You might consider planting veggies in your flowerbeds. Many plants that produce food can look great in front of your house—brightly colored peppers, eggplants, and okra, for instance. Okra plants are closely related to Hollyhocks, and produce similar flowers and plant shape.
If you can’t find an adequate spot in your yard, or you don’t have a yard, you still have a few options. You could borrow a friend’s. You might be surprised how many people would be more than happy to let you do some yard work in exchange for a place to grow some tomatoes. Or check your area for a local community garden. Community gardens bring local people together so they can garden on the same large plot of land and split the cost of using the land and its recourses.
Container gardening is another option. Great for apartments, growing your food in old containers can be a fun way to creatively recycle. Start collecting all shapes and sizes of containers now. Traditional terracotta pots work great, but recycled containers are fun, good for the environment, and can look really cool. Be aware that container gardens will dry out much faster than traditional gardens. In the summer months they may need to be watered two to three times a day. Some great ideas for recycled pots are old coffee cans, used olive oil tins, or pickle buckets from local restaurants. Do not plant in containers that have stored chemicals. Even when these containers are washed thoroughly, they can still retain small amounts of the chemical, contaminating your plants and leaving the fruit inedible.
If you’re itching to get your hands dirty, but the ground is still frozen, don’t worry. You can get a jump on the growing season by starting some seeds now. Plants like corn, cucumber, okra, and squash will produce fine if you plant the seed in April. However some plants, like tomatoes, peppers, and egg plants, prefer a longer growing season to be most productive. Starting seeds now will save you money on live plants later. One package of about fifty heirloom tomato seeds cost around $1.50. Live tomato plants start at about $1 each. Seeds are inexpensive, reliable, and easy to start.
Instead of buying an expensive “Seed Starter Kit,” you can easily make one with recycled materials. All you need is the bottom half of a biodegradable egg carton, a plastic bag, healthy dirt, water, and a pen. Start by using the pen to make small drainage holes in each of the twelve cells. Then completely fill the cells with dirt. Place one seed in each of the twelve dimples, then slightly press them into the dirt, covering them with dirt when you are done. Make sure you label the side of the container with the pen, so you will know what plants are growing later. After the seeds are planted, water them gently. Carefully set the moist containers inside of the plastic bag; this will keep them from drying out too quickly. Place everything in a well-lit window and keep moist. Plants normally take a few days to a couple of weeks to sprout. After the plants sprout, and you begin seeing the green leaves develop, remove the plants from the bag and place them back in the window. Recycle the bag, or save it for future use. Allow the soil to begin drying out a little now. The lack of moisture will encourage the roots to grow. Be careful not to dry your seedlings out too much. They are still very sensitive, and if they loose too much moisture, they will die quickly. As the seedlings grow, they will become hardier and be able to handle longer periods without water. Plants will need to be transferred into bigger containers as they grow larger. Something you will quickly notice as the plants are incubating in your home is the increase in air quality. Plants suck up carbon dioxide and release oxygen, making the air in your home fresher and healthier. As the temperature goes up outside, start placing your plants in the sun. Start slowly; only expose your plants to direct sunlight for a few minutes at a time. Lengthen exposure time to the sun little by little, every day. If your young plants receive too much sun, they will burn, resulting in dark and discolored leaves.
Successful gardening can be easy, as long as you remember the two keys—dirt, air, sunlight, water, and moderation. Growing your own food will leave you with lasting memories, save you money, and give you a feeling of satisfaction and security while passing down essential traditions to future generations.
If you have gardened before and have any tips, tricks, or experiences that you would like to share with other gardeners, please feel free to participate in the discussion at nakedcitywichita.com. We’d love to hear from you.
