Gardening During Quarantine Keeps Your Productive

As the COVID-19 pandemic stretches on, so do the self-isolation, social distancing and quarantine measures. People are still working and studying from home, trying to busy themselves and stay productive. You may be like the rest of the country: binge-watching Netflix series or even enjoying animation about theDisney Princesses in order.

If you think you’ve run out of activities to do during this extended quarantine season, think again.

Your garden may still need work. You don’t need a green thumb to maintain your front yard. Plus, going outside can help you refresh your mind as you enjoy the fresh air. Whether you want to grow new flowers or install a water-smart lawn irrigation system, you can reinvigorate your yard in many ways and stay busy during the pandemic season.

If you don’t have a yard, try container gardening. Also, try learning more about community gardens so you can join them once the crisis is over.

Weed Out the Weeds

The recent rains are blessings for the reservoirs – and the weeds. If your yard is like most yards, its muddy ground is probably thick with sprouting weeds. As the sun starts to shine, the mud will only get thicker. Instead of wading through the mud in the future, spare yourself the misery by weeding now.

Start by investing in a diamond hoe or a hula hoe to easily and quickly eliminate those weeds while standing. Diamond hoes are super sharp, so keep them away from your small kids. These handy tools will spare you from back pain while removing the weeds and leaving their roots to decompose and nourish the ground.

Start a Compost Pile

Reduce your contribution to the growing garbage piles. Instead, start composting!

Collect food scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds, dried leaves, stable bedding, grass clippings, shredded newspapers and old soil. Check your city’s website to see if they offer deals on low-cost composting bins. When composting, balance the number of carbon items (e.g. shredded newspapers and dried leaves) with nitrogen items (e.g. lawn clippings and kitchen scraps).

As you add more items to the pile, moisten the layers. The pile should be damp, not dripping. Also, keep the pile turned. The more you turn your pile, the faster it will transform into crumbly compost.

Participate in a Plant Swap

If you’re bored with the plants you have at home, ask your neighbors if they’re interested in a plant swap. If your neighbors have plant nurseries or have visited one, they most likely have more vegetable plants than needed. So, ask them if they would like to swap you for some onions, cilantro or other plants in your yard?

Inventory Your Garden Supplies and Tools

Do your garden gloves have holes in them? Is your hand trowel blunt or bent from hacking at rocks or roots? Does your wheelbarrow have a flat tire? Now is the time to check your garden tools and get ready for spring.

Indulge yourself with a new pair of garden gloves or buy a new tire for your wheelbarrow, which is more affordable compared to buying another wheelbarrow. Shop for a new sturdy garden trowel that can help you open bags of potting soil or cut through roots.

Nourish Your Garden Soil

Feed your garden bed with bags of compost, steer manure, organic potting soil or other organic additions. Enrich your soil by watering it well, too. Let the soil sit for a week or two while the microorganisms in the soil break down the ingredients. Let the mix cool down for a week or two to prevent killing tender seedlings.

Start an Herb Garden

Instead of repeatedly buying herbs from the local supermarket, why not get the herbs from your garden?

Find a sunny spot close to your kitchen door and plant an herb garden in a garden bed. If you don’t have a garden bed, you can start your herb garden in a large pot or a tub. Just make sure there’s sufficient drainage. When planting your herb garden, keep water-hungry herbs like basil separate from drought-loving herbs like sage, rosemary and lavender.

Add adventure to your herb garden by planting mint for your mojitos!

Set Up Deep Watering Stations

The chilly spring weather can make you think everything’s going to be “chill.” Suddenly, you find the searing summer temperature wrecking havoc on your garden. Instead of letting your plants die of thirst, prepare deep watering stations in your yard. Bury nursery buckets in your garden. During the spring, make sure to plant around those buckets.

As the heat rises, fill the buckets with water regularly. The deep watering enriches the roots, ensuring your plants will thrive despite the hot weather.

No one knows when quarantine season will end but there are still plenty of things to do at home. One of them is tending to your garden. Enjoy a better version of your yard with some DIY gardening projects.