Gardening is NOT Cancelled
Gardening is not cancelled this year. In fact, it’s probably one of the healthiest things you can be doing right now. It’s been a tough few weeks with the increased spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in North America. Over the past week we have seen increased measures to limit the spread, prepare hospitals, and work to “flatten the curve”. Sure you can stockpile toilet paper, but what about fresh produce? Now is the time to prepare your garden!
Just like “Victory Gardens” during World War II, you can help out the food supply chain by growing your own produce. Right now it is still a bit too cold and wet in our area for everything except crops like potatoes, onion sets, cabbage, and other cool weather, frost tolerant plants. However, there’s plenty of other garden tasks.
Clean, weed, and mulch your flower beds. Now is the time to remove old plant material and get a fresh coat of mulch on your beds. Another flower bed task is dividing hostas. As soon as they start to emerge, you have about a four week window to divide them.
Shame on you if you didn’t do it in the fall … but now is your last chance to sharpen and repair your garden tools before we get into the rush of springtime gardening. Now is also an excellent time to check your tiller and lawnmower (some lawns might even need mowed). It’s also a great time to dig up new flower or vegetable garden beds.
If you’re stuck inside on a rainy day, break out the seed catalogs, take a look at our 2020 plant collection, and start planning your landscape and vegetable garden. I make a plan for my garden layout each year to maintain a healthy crop rotation. I might not stick with it 100%, but it does help with ordering seed and buying plants.
Finally, just get outside! There’s no better way to practice “social distancing” than heading outside. Go for a hike, listen to the birds celebrating the arrival of spring, and witness the miracle of plants emerging from their winter slumber. While our world might seem chaotic right now, nature is blissfully immune.
