New Year, New Decade, New Beginnings, New Resolutions! It’s that time of the year when we get out of our holiday modes and get back into action and planning for the year ahead.
Many of you may have already made your new year resolutions. Eating healthy, exercising and so on. While that may be the case, we all know how long that stays. But we have something that can take care of both of these resolutions and give you much more in return. We are sharing with you some resolutions for your garden that will help you stay healthy and give you that dose of exercise you are looking for along with getting to learn new things in your garden.
1.) Clean gardening: Even though sometimes it can get difficult to be completely natural, let’s try to get our garden toxin-free and stop using pest control for bugs or weed killers. Find ways to keep your ecosystem in the garden and environment free of chemicals.
2.) Composting: Stop throwing those valuable vegetable peels, tea bags, leftover salad greens, eggshells in the trash. This valuable bounty is a nutrition booster for your garden. It’s like creating a loop, give back to your garden. Start a separate compost pail and eventually mix them in your garden for it to break down or you can collect them in a bigger compost pail outdoor for later use once it breaks down.
3.) Efficient watering: Even if you might be already doing that. Look for ways you can take a step further. Like get more drought-tolerant plants, water less but give good hydration by deep watering when you do, so your plants get enough water to the roots and can stand up to the infrequent watering. Of course, you shouldn’t stop watering the ones that can’t survive long breaks. Another option is to use a soaker hose which gives better hydration. One more helpful tip to keep the moisture for longer in the soil is covering your soil which helps in not only keeping the soil moist but also helps in keeping weeds at bay and if you are living in a dry area, it will help lock the moisture longer than let it evaporate. You can use leaves in fall or grass clipping in spring, summer.
4.) Involve and encourage others: It could your kids, your parents, grandparents, neighbor or a friend. Introduce them to the benefits of gardening. It’s a known fact that gardening helps in not just creating a beautiful garden but also has numerous health benefits for all ages. For adults, it works like a therapy boosting happy hormones in your body and keeps anxiety and depression at bay along with many other benefits. For kids, it is a great way to introduce them to the magic of gardening and growing their own greens. This helps them in learning about food and studies show that kids tend to eat the veggies they grow. It is also a great outdoor activity for them than sitting indoors on their phone screens.
5.) Have gratitude and enjoy stress-free gardening: Be thankful for your beautiful garden and appreciate your hard work. Sit for a while in your garden without looking at things that need to be done. Just enjoy a book or just look at your beautiful blossoms. Let this year not be a year of worry about having a perfect garden but just a healthy one. Disconnect from technology and enjoy the Zen space you have worked so hard on.
Now, this might be a reminder for gardeners who are already doing most of these things but also some important points to remember for those who are just stepping into the beautiful world of gardening.
