In this season of lockdown, it is a great opportunity to take even better care of your plants. Gardening is safe and will bear much more fruit than staying inside and doing nothing. It is therapeutic and can provide great personal rewards.
Today, when many people are working at home and students are learning at home, gardening can be a positive family-inclusive activity to adopt.
Starting a garden can be a personal escape. It can also draw family members closer together for great bonding. The things that you learn from gardening will ultimately help us slow down to enjoy watching nature grow and learning the responsibilities to the garden is a great satisfaction.
The desire to develop a green thumb is a way to pass the time for people, or ensure you have an ample supply of fresh food. In addition to emptying shelves of seeds and gardening tools, Americans are also buying Animals, particularly Chickens, to produce a steady influx of Eggs.
From a mental aspect, growing a garden could also be the way for adults and youngsters to deal with boredom and help families gain a sense of security. Historical experiences during trying times give us examples of how important gardening is in our society.
With World War I came food shortages. In the 1930s the Great Depression had millions of people out-of-work and desperately poor people gardened to survive. By the early 1940s, World War II emerged and, once more, the general public was asked to assist the War effort. National Victory Gardens began and everybody who was able-bodied gardened– including individual families and community groups.
In 1944, 40% of the food grown in the U.S. came from National Victory Gardens. In 1945, WWII ended, and farmers who survived the war without went back to working the land. Fresh food was once again abundant and predominantly on farms. Food rationing ended, and like post-WWI, gardening lost popularity.
Our country is once again at war and this time the enemy is not another Nation or the result of a struggling economy. The enemy cannot be seen nor are the weapons the same. However, Americans can turn to the potential benefits of gardening as a way to help in the war against Coronavirus.
Growing plants may be in your nature. Not born with a “green thumb”? Educational programs on the net can help hone your gardening knowledge. When surfing the internet for gardening information, check out land-grant university and Cooperative Extension websites that have peer-reviewed, non-biased and Science-based information. Private company websites and Social garden group blogs may provide information that’s not “tried and true”, or might not apply to your growing region or soil types.
If your looking into starting a gardening with your family then you might want to check out KidsGardening.com or How to grow herbs inside. Then there is Tips & Projects for Gardening with Kids.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
