Worthwhile Goals for the Garden in 2022

 So much fuss is made about new years eve resolutions and honestly, does anyone EVER keep them? Anyone? So, lets do away with them for now and instead look at a few smaller, doable goals for you and your garden. You don't have to give up junk food to have a great year, here are some goals that you will actually enjoy. 

Not a looker but this is a free and functional compost pile.

1. Visit at least one public garden. Longwood Gardens is my happy place. I usually visit there with my good friend Liz Chen so its a double dose of happy. But there are public gardens all over the place and visiting a quiet area to enjoy the beauty of nature is good for you on so many levels. 

2. Help someone with their garden. Gardening is an awesome hobby in and of itself but it's even better when it's shared. Perhaps a neighbor or friend is interested or in over their heads. If nothing else, volunteer at a local community garden. It's also very good for you!

3. Start a compost pile, or start feeding your compost more. Composting is the most brilliant way to help the earth by keeping stuff out of landfills and helping yourself by creating awesome soil amendments for free. My husband made my compost bin with some old pallets we got for free but there are options for any living arrangements.  Click here for some ideas. For me, this year I'd like to be more mindful of composting stuff that normally gets thrown out, like paper and cardboard. More goodies for my garden and less trash for the garbage truck. 

4. Learn to grow a new plant. No one is too young or too old to learn something new. Continuing education is a great way to keep your brain young and there are always new things to learn in the garden. This year, I want to grow turnips and pop corn for the first time. Pick something new and read up on it before Spring. You can also do this with your kids to make it a family project. 

My very own gardening notebook. 

5. Cut back on your use of chemicals in the garden. Most of us who garden for personal reasons (i.e. not farmers) really don't need to use pesticides or artificial fertilizers. Take stock of what you normally use and look into either organic alternatives or just doing away with them. Even small steps in the right direction will benefit the ecosystem of your yard. 

6. Start keeping a garden journal. Taking notes about what works and what doesn't, what happens in your yard and when, and ideas for the future is definitely a great idea! You can do this electronically or in an old fashioned notebook. You can make entries when you want to. But it's good to look back on it. 

Do any of these sound like a good goal for you? What are your garden plans for the new year? Be sure to comment below!

Why You Should Garden in 2021

 Happy New Year everyone! If you haven't already jumped on the gardening bandwagon, then this is the year for you to start. There are several reasons why this is a great year to try it out. Don't be discouraged if you don't think you have a green thumb or if you've had failures in the past, I'll be writing lots of tips to help you have more success in the future. Anyways, here's why 2021 is your year....

1.  Gardening is great for your physical health. The most common new years resolution is to lose weight. However, with many gyms shut down or requiring masks (I'm all for wearing masks in public but it's really uncomfortable while exercising) you might be wondering how you'll burn those calories. Don't worry! Gardening provides both strength training and cardio as well as fresh air and sunshine. Also, assuming you're at your own home, no mask is required!

2. Gardening is great for your mental health. I think we can all agree that 2020 has caused a lot of anxiety and frustration and its important to work through all that. If you can access a therapist, that's great. However, just getting outside to work in the soil and enjoy nature does wonders for your mental and emotional well being. You can read more about that here. 

3. Gardening can improve the quality of your families diet. You're going to be much more apt to eat fresh veggies and fruit if you can walk out your back door and pick them. Also, kids are more likely to try veggies if they have helped grow them. If you're in the group of people pledging to be more healthy this year, then gardening can help!

4. Gardening can help make up for food shortages. Look, I am not a doomsday prepper in any way. However, given the wildfires out west, covid related food distribution issues, and people hoarding at the grocery stores, sometimes you can't get the food you want. Recently there was a shortage of fresh lettuce and I wasn't aware of it for months because I've been getting all my lettuce out of the garden for months.  Growing all your own food is pretty hard core but we can all grow some.

5. Gardening is good for the environment. The first thing people stop thinking about in a crisis is the environment but protecting our precious earth should always be on our radar. Assuming you're not using a lot of toxic pesticides (and you shouldn't be) then growing your own food and creating a more biodiverse environment in your yard is great. You can plant a native oak tree to provide nesting for birds. You can plant milkweed to provide food for Monarch butterflies. Just growing your own food organically means fewer pesticides and less carbon emissions from transporting the food. 

Well, if that's not enough to get your thinking about it, I don't know what is. What are your gardening goals for 2021? Feel free to comment below.