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Top Benefits of Gardening

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Gardening is a popular hobby for people of all ages, and for good reason. It’s a great way to get exercise, fresh air, and sunshine. It’s also a rewarding experience to watch your plants grow and produce food or flowers.

But gardening can be more than just a hobby. I can be a way of life. Growing your own food boost many health benefits . It has a number of benefits for your physical and mental health. Read more to learn the many benefits of gardening.

benefits of gardening

Benefits of Gardening

  • Physical benefits: Gardening is a great way to get exercise. It involves digging, weeding, planting, and watering, all of which are physical activities that can help you burn calories and build muscle. Gardening can also help to improve your flexibility and balance.
  • Mental health benefits: Gardening has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. It can also improve your mood and boost your self-esteem. Spending time in nature has also been shown to have a number of mental health benefits, so gardening is a great way to get your dose of nature.
  • Cognitive benefits: Gardening can help to improve your cognitive function. It requires you to use your memory, problem-solving skills, and attention to detail. Gardening can also help to reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Social benefits: Gardening can be a social activity. You can join a community garden, garden with friends and family, or simply enjoy chatting with other gardeners when you’re out at the nursery. Gardening can help you to connect with your community and build relationships with others.
  • Environmental benefits: Gardening can also be beneficial for the environment. It can help to improve air quality, reduce water pollution, and provide habitat for wildlife. Gardening can also help to reduce your carbon footprint by reducing the amount of food you have to buy from the grocery store.

If you’re looking for a hobby that’s good for your physical and mental health, gardening is a great option. It’s also a rewarding experience that can help you to connect with your community and the environment.

How to start seeds indoors here!

person preparing soil in peat pot for transplanting flower

How to start gardening

  • Start small. You don’t need to have a lot of space or experience to get started with gardening. You can start with a few pots on your balcony or patio, or even a small raised bed in your yard.
  • Choose plants that are easy to care for. When you’re just starting out, it’s best to choose plants that are known to be easy to grow. There are many good options available, such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and herbs.
  • Do your research. Before you plant anything, take some time to learn about the basic principles of gardening. This includes things like choosing the right location for your plants, preparing the soil, and watering and fertilizing.
  • Don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are many resources available to help new gardeners get started. You can find books, websites, and even gardening classes. You can also ask for help from friends, family, or neighbors who have experience with gardening.

Gardening is a fun and rewarding hobby that can benefit your physical and mental health, as well as the environment. If you’re looking for a new hobby to try, gardening is a great option.

Happy Gardening

Herbs You Can Grow for Tea

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There are many herbs that are great for tea. Many are very easy to grow on your own and don’t require a lot of space so my small space gardeners listen up this is for you too! Here are a few of the most popular herbs to grow for Tea:

herbs for tea
  • Chamomile: Chamomile is a calming herb that is often used to help with sleep. It has a sweet, apple-like flavor. It is easy to grow but some have trouble starting from seed.
  • Peppermint: Peppermint is a refreshing herb that can help to soothe an upset stomach. It has a strong, minty flavor. Never and I repeat never plant mint in the ground. It will take over. This herb is best grown in a pot.
  • Ginger: Ginger is a warming herb that can help to relieve nausea and motion sickness. It has a spicy, gingery flavor. Ginger requires a long growing season so start your tubers early indoors.
  • Echinacea: Echinacea is an immune-boosting herb that can help to fight off colds and flu. It has a slightly bitter flavor. Echinacea is not only good for your but it also has gorgeous blooms!
  • Hibiscus: Hibiscus is a tart, fruity herb that can help to lower blood pressure. It has a bright pink color. The hibiscus also has gorgeous tropical blooms in many different colors.
  • Lavender: Lavender is a calming herb that can help to relieve stress and anxiety. It has a sweet, floral flavor. It can be difficult to start from seed so buying started plants might be best for the new gardeners.
  • Rosemary: Rosemary is a stimulating herb that can help to improve memory and concentration. It has a piney, rosemary flavor.
  • Thyme: Thyme is a flavorful herb that can be used to add depth to any tea. It has a slightly minty, thyme flavor.

These are just a few of the many herbs that can be used to make tea. You can experiment with different herbs to find your favorites.

herbs for tea

When making tea with herbs, it is important to use fresh herbs whenever possible. Dried herbs can be used, but they will not have as strong of a flavor.

To make tea with herbs, simply add the desired amount of herbs to a cup of hot water. Steep the tea for 3-5 minutes, or until the desired flavor is achieved. Strain the tea and enjoy.

You can also add other ingredients to your herbal tea, such as honey, lemon, or milk. These ingredients can enhance the flavor of the tea and make it more enjoyable.

Happy Gardening

Ciearra

How to Grow Petunias from Seed

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Petunias are a beautiful flowering annual plant that you can easily grow from seed. Annual plants provide you season long color in the garden with their continuous blooming and fast growth habits. When planning your annual garden be sure to think about color, growth habit and sun needs. Petunias are hungry plants meaning they love to be fertilized and they love water

petunia flowers growing in garden

Here are the steps on how to grow petunias from seed:

  1. Start your seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before your last frost date or earlier for early blooms.
  2. Fill a seed starting tray with a sterile seed starting mix.
  3. Sprinkle the petunia seeds on top of the soil.
  4. Lightly cover the seeds with more soil.
  5. Mist the soil with water.
  6. Cover the seed starting tray with plastic wrap or a clear lid.
  7. Place the seed starting tray in a warm, sunny spot or under grow lights.
  8. Remove the plastic wrap or lid once the seeds have germinated and the seedlings have their first set of true leaves.
  9. Thin the seedlings so that there is only one seedling per cell.
  10. Fertilize the seedlings with a weak solution of liquid fertilizer once a week.
  11. Harden off the seedlings by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions for a few hours each day, before transplanting them outdoors after your last frost date.
  12. Water the petunias regularly, especially during hot, dry weather.
  13. Fertilize the petunias every 2-4 weeks with a balanced fertilizer.
  14. Deadhead the petunias regularly to encourage new blooms.
  15. Enjoy your beautiful petunias!
close up photograph of petunia flowers in bloom
Red Petunias

Here are some additional tips for growing petunias from seed:

  • Use a good quality seed starting mix.
  • Keep the soil moist but not soggy.
  • Fertilize the seedlings regularly.
  • Harden off the seedlings before transplanting them outdoors.
  • Water the petunias regularly, especially during hot, dry weather.
  • Fertilize the petunias every 2-4 weeks with a balanced fertilizer.
  • Deadhead the petunias regularly to encourage new blooms.
  • Protect the petunias from pests and diseases.

With a little care and attention, you can easily grow beautiful petunias from seed. Petunia do so well planted in containers or in ground.

Happy Gardening!

Ciearra

How to Grow Tomatoes from Seed

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There is nothing better than a homegrown sun ripened Tomato. If you do not know this yet, there is a BIG difference in flavor of store bought tomatos vs’ homegrown tomatoes and once you’ve tried homegrown you’ll never go back if you don’t have to. So here is your guide to growing your own Tomatoes in your garden.

This blog post may contain affiliate links and if you make a purchase you will be helping me continue my love and passion for gardening.

green and red oval fruits

Did you know that there are over 10,000 varieties of Tomatoes? Ranging in flavor from sweet to acidic. There are so many varieties and flavors to choose from!

To get started you need to source seeds. There are many retailers that will have Tomato seeds in stores starting in January and sometimes earlier. If you want more variety than what’s in store I suggest ordering online. Here are some cool places to shop online.

Totally Tomatoes

Park Seed

Seedville USA

Amazon

Etsy

Now that your seeds have arrived it’s time to decide when and how you want to plant them. The easiest way to start Tomato seeds is to plant them directly in the garden after your first frost date. Its a good idea to have a space in your garden prepared prior to planting. You can prepare a bed by tilling the soil and adding in compost prior to planting.

You will follow the depth requirements on the seed packet then once planted, water them in and let nature do the rest! Kidding, well not entirely. You will need to keep watch for birds and other critters that would love to dig up and eat your seeds. While also keeping the soil moist by hand watering or drip irrigation.

Inside or Out?

gardener planting seeds on a tray of soil

Outside

Whether you start your seeds inside or out is up to you. Both options are wonderful depending on your situation. Starting your seeds outside will be the easiest by far but you will have to deal with pest pressure from the start.

Birds, chipmunks, squirrels among many others will be after your seeds as soon as your plant them in the ground. Aside from watering nature will take care of them for you. You will have stronger seedlings that grow into healthy plants.

Follow the planting guide on the seed packet for planting outside in ground. You will likely need to plant your seeds about 2 inches apart and and inch or so down in the soil.

Determinate vs Indeterminate Tomatoes

Determinate Tomatoes grow to a certain height and stop. Determinate Tomatoes are perfect for growing in containers and for small space gardens. Different determinate varieties will grow to different heights based on variety but top out at a certain height. Tomato cages are nice but not always necessary depending on the variety.

Indeterminate tomatoes grow to an indeterminate height meaning that they can grow as tall as they please. If you choose to grow Indeterminate tomatoes, be ready to provide a trellising system for them. Simple tomato cages will only be enough if you “Top” your tomatoes at the same height of the cage. If you let them grow taller than your trellising system you are asking for a mess. They will flop over and grow all over the place.

orange tomato

To real an awesome book about tomatoes click here!

Inside

To grow tomatoes indoors you are going to need patience and space because tomatoes sprout and grow very fast! Here’s what you need to grow your own tomatoes.

Seed Starting Supplies

Seed Starting Mix

Small Pots

Grow Light

How to grow Tomatoes From Seed

Fill your pots with seed starting mix then depending on the size of your pots plant your seeds 1/2 inch down, cover with soil and water them. Be prepared to keep your seed mix consistently moist. Dry soil can be the death of young seedlings

If you don’t have strong window light or overhead grow lights you will get leggy (stretched) seedlings. While you can grow your seeds in a window sill but I highly recommend you get a grow light or two.

Aside from overhead lighting you will want to keep your seedlings in a warm area of your home. Sunflower seeds don’t need to much heat to germinate but do best in a warm room.

Should your Tomato seedlings get leggy there is a fix! You can bury tomato plants deeper into soil and the stem will root. It’s amazing!

Tomato Seedlings

Once your seeds have sprouted you will want to make sure to keep the soil moist, overhead light consistent and your space warm. Seedlings need at least 13 hours of daylight. This is made easier by the use of artificial lights. You can leave your grow lights on for at max 16 hours a day to keep your Tomato seedlings happy.

When you begin seeing roots growing from the bottom of your pots it’s time to repot your plants. If your outdoor temps are warm enough ( Above 46 degrees at night) you can begin to transition your seedlings into the garden.

To learn how to transition your seeds I recommend you read this post!

If it’s not yet time to plant your tomatoes outside then continue with regular care until the weather is right. You may have to repot your seedlings several times before transitioning them out into the garden.

red and green tomato fruits

Planting Outside

Once you’ve transitioned your seedlings it’s time to plant. You can plant your seedlings in containers, raised beds or in ground making sure your plant is in full sun. Full sun is at least 6 hours of direct sun oh the foliage.

Fertilizing

When you plant be sure to use a fertilizer to feed your plant. Tomato plants grow quite fast and are very heavy feeders so make sure to provide them with fertilizer all season long. You can use a tomato specific fertilizer to feed them all season long.

Watering

Tomatoes love moist soil as much as they love being fertilized regularly. Keep your tomatoes consistently moist especially if you plant them in pots. You can water them by hand daily or install drip irrigation so that you don’t have to water daily.

Once you grow your own tomatoes you will never look at store bought tomatoes the same. There are so many types of tomatoes that there’s always new tomatoes to try.

Happy Gardening

Ciearra

Start Seeds Indoors! Here’s What You Need to Start!

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So you want to start a garden and you’re ready to start some seeds indoors? Seed starting season is upon us, and if you’ve never started your own seeds, there are some things your going to need to be successful. I don’t want to scare you with these items, because you can literally start seeds with a paper towel and a ziplock bag; but if you want to make this a long term hobby there are certain things you are going to want to have at your disposal to make life easier.

start seeds indoors

This blog post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission to fund my houseplant habit if you use these links to make a purchase. You will not be charged extra, and you’ll keep me in the garden. It’s a win for everyone, really.

Start Seeds Indoors! Here’s What You Need!

Seeds

If you want to start seeds indoors, you are going to first need to get some seeds. Usually starting in late January, you will start to see seed kiosks popping up at your local big box stores, grocery stores, and greenhouses. You can also find a ton of seeds online if you prefer to not buy from your local stores.

Unsure of where to shop online? Check out this post with the 12 best places to buy seeds online.

When gardening for the first time, I recommend starting with what you actually like to eat; don’t get caught up buying tons of vegetable seeds or flowers you don’t like. It’s easy to get overwhelmed in the garden, so pace yourself and start with a few veggies and flowers you love.

Pots

Once you know what you want to grow and have your seeds, you need to think about what you’re going to plant them in. You can save money and use milk cartons, yogurt cups, etc; or you can buy seed starting trays. There are so many options when it comes to seed starting pots. Dollar stores often carry plastic pots for plants, and you get about 6 for $1.25; big box stores may charge a little more, or you can shop online.

Soil

Next up is soil. You can use regular potting mix, but when you use seed starting soil you will have a higher success rate with your seedlings. Seed starting mix is sterile, which means no bacteria to infect your seedlings and cause damping off disease.

Grow Lights

You need light for your seedlings; of course you can put them in a sunny window to grow, but in my experience this makes for leggy and stretched seedlings. What works best is overhead lighting. So when starting seeds indoors, grow lights work best if you don’t have a greenhouse. There are so many options for grow lights, so choose what works best for your setup.

Seed Starting Helpful Extras

You’ve got the basics down; now let me show you some helpful extras. I promise you these are so handy and you will want to add them to your seed starting set up.

starting seeds indoors

Drip Trays

Drip trays are the only way you will survive seed starting season. Seedlings need to be kept moist so drip trays come in handy so that you can water your seedlings in place.

Watering Cans

Using a watering can with a long spout is best when it comes to watering your seedlings or filling trays and bottom watering. It makes for less mess.

Shelving

Shelving comes in so handy. You will need a place to set up your seed trays and hang up your lights above your seedlings. These shelves are perfect.

Heat Mat

There are some seeds that need heat to germinate and usually a warm room will suffice, but adding heat will speed up the germination process.

Starting seeds indoors is a rewarding experience, and it’ll save you money in the long run. Buying everything up front can be costly so DIY, and shopping sales and clearance will be your best friend when you first start out. If you’re a first time gardener or indoor seed starter, take it slow. Buy the essentials, seed starting soil, pots and a grow light. It can be overwhelming the first year but hang in there and you will be rewarded when your plants begin to flower and produce food for you!

Happy Gardening

Ciearra

Vegetable gardening | Answer three Questions before you start

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Home gardening and Homesteading is very trendy right now and for good reason. We are looking for ways to become more self sufficient and to save money by growing your own or raising your own food. We all know how hard it can be to put nutritious cost friendly food on the table. Starting a garden can seem costly at first but really you can grow using very little money at all but before you do there are several question you should ask yourself before you start a garden.

ripe tomatoes on branches. Vegetable garden
Photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV on Pexels.com

Do you have the time to devote to a vegetable garden?

Vegetable gardening is not a set it a forget it type of hobby. Gardening requires time, attention and planning in order to be semi successful at it. If you don’t have the time to dedicate to learning, trial and error, planting, pruning, watering, fertilizing the list goes on then you might want to wait until you have the time.

Small Space Gardeners read this post!

Do you have the space for a vegetable garden?

While you don’t need acres upon acres to grow food and flowers you do need a dedicated space for it. whether it be a window sill for herbs or a patio for pots and raised garden beds. You need to have room.

Do you have enough light to grow vegetables?

Plants need light to photosynthesise and make food for themselves. You can grow a lot of plants in part shade but not many edible plants will grow well in shade. Make sure what your growing has enough light to produce.

Don’t get discouraged. If you are ready to start a garden you will find a space and a way and make it work! Remember you can start in a window sill and you can use seeds from the produce you get from the store.

Happy Gardening

Ciearra

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