Spring is in the Air – It’s time to get Gardening

Spring is here, which means it’s the perfect time to get planting. Not only can gardening save you money, it can benefit your health.

They don’t call it “dirt therapy” for nothing. It really can be therapeutic. Digging in the garden and harvesting what you grow can help you feel happier.

The Benefits of Gardening

• It helps relieve stress and anxiety.
• Boosts your mood, helping to reduce depressive thoughts.
• It’s a form of physical exercise that helps burn calories, build muscles, and maintain a healthier weight. Planting and sowing get you moving.
• Encourages healthy eating and promotes a more balanced diet. You can enjoy your fresh vegetables. If you are not using pesticides and herbicides, you also eat cleaner fruits and vegetables.
• Outside and physically working strengthens your immune system with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants from the crop.
• It keeps your brain healthy and boosts creativity. Being creative helps you come up with new ideas and refreshes your brain.
• The rays from the sun will help your Vitamin D levels increase. Just remember your sunscreen to protect you from the sun’s harmful effects.
• You won’t have distractions like emails, texts, calls, or TV.

Tips to Create your First Garden

So, if you want to reap some of the benefits of gardening, you will have to create a garden. Let’s begin with some tips to get you started. For more begginer tips, visit the Old Farmer’s Alamanac.

Pick a spot to plant. Ensure the area gets at least 6 hours of sunlight daily. I also recommend that it is easily accessible to water.

Start with a small spot. You want to avoid becoming overwhelmed and doing too much at once, especially if this is your first garden.

Now that you have selected your space and its size, it’s time to determine whether you want to plant directly in the ground or add some raised garden beds. Either works, and both require work to set up. 

What are you going to plant? I love salad, so I would start with the greens and maybe an ingredient or two I like in my salad. I would also incorporate some herbs that I use for cooking, like garlic, chives, basil, rosemary, cilantro, and parsley.

Once you decide what you are going to plant, you have the option to plant seeds or purchase some small plants. Sometimes, you can even get starter plants from your neighbors who garden.

The majority of the physical activity takes place in upkeep: watering, weeding, and harvesting. 

It’s all worth it because nothing tastes as good as fresh veggies. So enjoy the act of planting and digging in the dirt and the boost it gives you. It will affect your mind and body in many positive ways. So, celebrate this month by getting into the garden.