by Elizabeth Magee, LRD
Benefits of gardening:
• Fresh produce at your fingertips
• Vitamin D exposure; possibly a suntan if you’re looking for that
• Activity
• Alone time OR quality time with your garden partner (friend, kids, spouse, grandparent, neighbor, etc.)
• Mood booster
• Promotes a healthy weight
• May encourage picky eaters to try more things
And those are just a few examples.
My garden was a total bust this year. It was also a bust last year. My husband and I were so mad about it last year, we hauled in dirt this year. We carefully spread it out, made it even, also expanded the size of the garden. We were pumped. This was supposed to be our year after last year’s bad garden.
Guess what? This wasn’t our year, either. All of that work for nothing. We spaced things out, watered regularly, applied Miracle Grow according to the directions, kept the tomatoes standing tall in their cages, propped up things that looked like they could use some support, and even gave it love. I play very enjoyable music and listened to podcasts as I weeded and watered. The garden didn’t care. I couldn’t even get zucchini to grow!! Come on. I had such great hopes for all of the tomato plants. There was going to be Caprese salad weekly (I did have success with basil 😊), fresh pico de gallo. The kids were going to snack on the broccoli and cauliflower, I was going to make sauerkraut with the adorable little cabbage heads. Spaghetti squash and eggplant were additions this year, along with some pretty purple fingerling potatoes I was very excited about.
Do you want to know what I ended up with? Two tiny spaghetti squash, one tiny head of broccoli, a few different kinds of spicy peppers, more swiss chard than I know what to do with, and MAYBE 8 very small tomatoes.
My 2022 tomato crop fit in one hand!
No cauliflower, no zucchini, no onions, no cabbage, no eggplant.
Did the rabbits eat them? No. We had chicken wire around it. Did we forget to water? Again, no. I gave it love, I gave it new dirt, and I gave it Miracle Grow. I weeded out all the weeds stealing nutrients and for what??
Basically nothing. That’s how it feels.
On the positive side, I did still manage to get outside and get a tan and Vitamin D, got exercise, spent time with my husband and stepdaughter and definitely got a mood boost from being out in the warm sun. I didn’t get any of the veggies I was SO EXCITED about, and that’s annoying. But if you look at all the benefits, and I did reap most of them.
Next year, we will try again. Plant some of the same, some new. I’ll give it more love and just cross my fingers. Hopefully your gardens turned out better than mine and you are canning and freezing and adding bright little backyard treats to your snacks and meals. And some of you might even be trying to get rid of excess because your garden was that good!!
As for me, I’ll be at the farmer’s market looking for those yummy homegrown tomatoes.
Elizabeth Magee is a licensed registered dietitian. Her posts appear monthly on OYT.
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