Healthy Lifestyle

Advantage of Gardening

1. Gardening can build self-esteem.

Maybe you don’t think you were born with a green thumb, but after tilling, planting, nurturing and harvesting plants, you might see a slightly different person in the mirror: a person who can grow things and is a little more in tune with the earth.

It always feels good to accomplish new tasks, and if you can grow a garden, what can’t you do?

2. Gardening is good for your heart.

All that digging, planting and weeding burns calories and strengthens your heart.

“There are physical benefits from doing the manual labor of gardening,” says UNC Health internal medicine physician Robert Hutchins, MD, MPH. “It’s hard work to garden, and it provides some cardiovascular benefit.”

3. Gardening can make you happy.

Getting dirt under your nails while digging in the ground can make you pretty happy. In fact, inhaling M. vaccae, a healthy bacteria that lives in soil, can increase levels of serotonin and reduce anxiety.

Gardening

After I started to gardening, I found it was cool! Lots of people asked me what should we plant? Well, here's my suggestions for you to plant! Here's a reminder for you all-these are my own suggestions, not all of the people will agree with them.

First:

Vegetables

Dec 24

Invest in what’s real and clean!~

Second:

Flowers

Dec 25

Take time to smell the roses!

From the Firehose

Blog post-Gardening

January 1, 2021 by Chiam Zi Yi

I could still remember my experience in first gardening. I did not think that it would be a disaster on my part and it made me to think not to do gardening again. I almost decided to change my casual hobby into anything rage-inducing topic that you can possibly say to me.

It began with a couple of weeks after I transferred in to my first house. Of course, having one could bring so much excitement for me since I was in condos and apartments for quite a long time. I was too excited to manage my own grass, to paint walls and transform anything that my mind desired. I thought to start my gardening by fruit garden so that I could have fresh fruits at home-I really didn’t have any idea on gardening that time. I didn’t care to ask for help because I thought, it would just be easy for me to do it.

That time, I already had a grassless area which could have been attempted to be used for planting- even if the site was still full of rocks and not suitable for any plant. I allocated several days on clearing out the whole area. At that time, I didn’t have any idea on the difference between soil and dirt. So, I was managing a nutrition-less, hard, and unforgiving land. I made several attempts to make my garden to look nice. So I did taking stained boards from my basement and used them as borders for my garden to make it free from pests ( see? I really didn’t have any idea). I also used my rock collections for my garden to make it shrine-looking in front.

I went to stores and looked for any fruit that could be planted- watermelon? Yeah! strawberries?Sure! I dug a hole and put some seeds in and watered faithfully everyday. Several weeks had gone, I noticed that there were no stuffs growing and even If I realized that there would be no plant grows, still I continued to water it hoping that there might be one- I was heartbroken.

So, feeling betrayed and dejected, I went to surfing the net and searched for gardening tips.I immediately landed to a site that provided me the real skills in gardening. It was then I learned about nutrients, ideal watering, soil consistency, season- and all other essential things for gardening. Then, after that I learned the exact things to do- ideal soil, nutrients, water and techniques.

If you are in the position I was, and you just desired to begin a new garden-you should learn from my mistake. Just make it sure you have researched enough for techniques and knowledge that you really need for achieving the home garden of your dream.

Gardening Equipment

1. Shovel

Select an shovel, which will give you the ability to dig holes, move soil and relocate plants. If you're starting a large landscaping bed, a squared-off garden spade would help you make cleaner cuts, but for most newbies an angled shovel is the tool for the job.

2. Pruning Shears

Whether you're harvesting fresh produce or cutting back berry bushes, you'll want to equip yourself with a set of sturdy pruning shears. For a clean cut, snip at the node of the plant (where the branch meets the stem in a Y shape). Once your garden matures, you can invest in a set of loppers designed for branches 2 inches or wider.

3. Hoe

A hoe is an ancient and versatile agricultural and horticultural hand tool used to shape soil, remove weeds, clear soil, and harvest root crops. Shaping the soil includes piling soil around the base of plants (hilling), digging narrow furrows (drills) and shallow trenches for planting seeds or bulbs.

4. Rake

Rakes typically have a long handle made of wood with uniform metal tines that are sturdier than leaf rakes you'd use to clean up grass clippings and other loose material. They allow you to easily create smooth, level soil while removing unwanted weeds. If you're cultivating tough, overgrown land, consider swapping the rake for a garden hoe, which is a landscaping tool with more heft to help you chop and clear unruly spaces and remove weeds.

5. Watering Can

If you're putting plants directly in the ground, spring for a hose, making sure it's long enough to reach from your spigot to your garden. Consider adding a sprayer attachment that will let you control water flow and pressure. If you're purely container gardening, a watering can will suffice–look for a lightweight one you can still carry when full. For best results, water in the early morning when temperatures are cooler. Avoid midday watering, which will evaporate too quickly, as well as evening watering, which can make the soil waterlogged and create a breeding ground for harmful fungi and bacteria.

6. Gardening Glove

Gardening glove will help prevent blisters and scratches, not to mention keep your hands clean. Look for gloves with reinforced fingertips and padding for added protection, plus cinchable wrist straps to keep soil from getting inside.

7. Trowel

A hand-held trowel is a must-have for a multitude of everyday gardening tasks, including breaking up clumps of soil, digging small holes, transplanting seedlings and even digging up weeds. Container-only and large-scale gardeners alike will find themselves using a trowel on a regular basis. If you splurge on one piece of entry-level gardening equipment, make it this–select one with a solid metal blade and sturdy wooden handle.

8. Garden Fork

A garden fork is used similarly to a spade in loosening and turning over soil. Its tines allow it to be pushed more easily into the ground, and it can rake out stones and weeds and break up clods, it is not so easily stopped by stones, and it does not cut through weed roots or root-crops.