GARDENING ESSENTIALS FOR ESSENTIAL GARDENING By Sydney Andrews
The world, as we know it, has changed drastically in mere hours. TV’s, phones, newspapers, and people are constantly displaying information about the world’s pandemic: COVID-19. Feelings of worry, uncertainty, grief, and restlessness are readily available emotions that people are carrying with them these days. With shelter in place statutes, daily life means the only reason you can justify leaving the house, is for essentials. In spite of all this which seems so bleak, and with a extra time at home with family, here’s a challenge for you. Get outside, share a conversation with your quarantine buddy (6 ft away of course), maybe cross off the eyesore that’s been on that one list forever. For our household, that one thing on that one list is to revitalize our garden! Think about it; there’s no better time than now! When a trip to the grocery store has become a dilemma of personal health and safety, it’s time to pull the weeds and grow your food. It’s rewarding, it’s something to do with all this extra time, and in a time like this, it’s ESSENTIAL. Whether you just need to give your garden some TLC, or if you’ll be starting from scratch, we have come up with 5 steps to ensure that your garden is ready to churn out some tasty essentials all summer long. 8
Spring-Summer 2020
STEP 1: Fix up or build raised beds. For those of us who left the garden untouched for the entire winter, we might have some rebuilding and reinforcing to do. Ensure that there are no holes or rotting wood in the frames. You may need to replace a few boards, or maybe even start from scratch. Be sure you put chicken wire at the bottom of your beds so that gophers or any other critters don’t dig into your beds from the bottom. You can also set a mesh lining on top of the wire as another layer of protection. Depending on where you live, think about the reinforcements you will need to keep the pests away. Bunnies, deer, gophers, and birds will have no problem eating the fruits of your labor! This reinforcement might look like cages around your raised beds, a fence around your garden will protect the fruits and vegetables you labored over. For those of you who are starting from scratch, now is the time to figure out how big you want your garden to be. Get the whole family involved and build the beds together! Start small! A small garden that’s well taken care of will produce far more than a more extensive unmanageable garden. You may be asking yourself how you can get all of the materials needed to build - places like Home Depot and Tractor Supply all have options to order online and pick up Continued on page 10.
