Gardening: The Greenest Hobby

 

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Different reasons make people approach the practice of gardening as a hobby, and when they begin to enjoy the beneficial aspects they have for health, almost no one moves away from it. According to some specialists, this activity becomes a true promoter of health and communication. As a first factor, it is an outdoor activity that each person takes and performs according to their capabilities. In addition, the practice of gardening invites you to take a break from the dizzying and crazy pace of life that most people suffer from every day.

What is Gardening?

Gardening is considered as a branch of art, which is responsible for the design of gardens and the practice of cultivating them. Gardening can be done in open spaces (outdoors) as well as in closed spaces, such as small spaces inside a house, internal courtyards to a building, etc.

Gardening is divided into horticulture, which is the cultivation of vegetables; Arboriculture, which is the cultivation of fruit trees; floriculture, which refers to the cultivation of flowers and the care of nurseries, where trees and small bushes are grown.

Of course, within a garden, these activities can be carried out on a small scale, since horticulture, for example, is also a primary activity that is part of large-scale economic circuits, with gigantic productions of raw materials, destined for both domestic market and export markets.

Gardening, on the other hand, is a small-scale activity, where the tasks, in general, are always manual and rarely use electronic tools, but rather that these are for manual and mechanical use: wheelbarrows, shovels, sprinklers small, rakes, among others. In addition, it is common that in gardening activities the care of vegetables is much more intensive, putting the focus on each of them and often making home-made compounds that help fight insect pests or parasites that affect the plants.

In principle, gardening is done as a matter of taste, because it is enjoyed and derives pleasure in performing tasks of care and maintenance of gardens, which in turn can satisfy some type of need, which can be aesthetic, as in the case of wanting to have in the own home a showy and attractive space at the same time as natural, or also an alimentary aim, as it would be one of the orchards, where different foods can be cultivated.

How to Start Gardening? 

While taking the first steps in the world of gardening is essential to keep in mind a series of tips that will be paramount to the success of the work.

Understand the operation of plants: At first sight, the art of the gardener can be simple; however, before starting to develop it, it is essential to learn about how plants live. They have a way of feeding and needs that are totally different from ours, so being aware of that will ensure success in the task.

To each plant, their needs: Just as there are no two humans who are similar, neither are the plants identical. For that reason, we must know previously who they are and what their needs are, to know if with the material that we have (land, climate, space) we can satisfy these requirements, and ensure a healthy and happy life to the plant.

Determine the characteristics of your garden: Before planting our first seed we must bear in mind that each plant has its own biological and environmental needs. Therefore, we will have to do a thorough analysis of the land we have available to know what to plant, when and how. For this we must also know the climatic patterns of the environment, to know what is the care we should give in the various seasons of the year.

Choose the plants according to your garden: Once we know how our soil is and how we should work it we will have to choose the species that will make up our garden; they should not be chosen as beautiful, but as a function of the space we have and, above all, of light.

Gardening, the greenest hobby of all

All the hobbies or hobbies are entertaining and very stimulating for their respective levels of satisfaction, but it must be recognized that there are few hobbies as useful and as satisfying as gardening. The lucky ones, who have large outdoor spaces in their homes, know that taking care of their gardens themselves is an extremely relaxing task that translates into wonderful plants and flowers. The experts in gardening will know how to create places in which each station is represented with its best exponents. Gardening is a very extensive discipline and each person finds the niche that is closest to their tastes and hobbies.

Gardening Beginnings

The gardens date back to the time when human beings decided to leave the nomadic life and settle in villages tilling the land and taking care of their livestock. As soon as the man had shelters or permanent homes he began to take care of his garden as he did of the interiors of his house. The gardening evolved becoming a complete stuff that so many practices all over the planet.

Gardening in the Garden

Having a garden at home is the dream of many. Apply knowledge of gardening to plant and harvest vegetables, herbs, legumes and edible tubers will not only result in enjoying fresh delicacies in the kitchen but also add a very nice space in the garden, regardless of its practical advantages.

Gardening and Flowers

Flower lovers usually spend most of their in gardening activities. The tasks of irrigation, pruning, fertilizer application, and others, are rewarded at the sight of those buds that promise to become wonderful flowers.

Gardening and Fruit Trees

The fruits harvested in a garden of their own are sweeter than any other. When gardening is at the service of fruit trees or shrubs, there will surely be a few jars of sweets, jams, and preserves to bear witness in the kitchen.

Gardening and Bodies of Water

Incorporating water in the garden is always a wonderful idea. There are also many aquatic plants that gardening enthusiasts know and know how to care for, which will give small streams or artificial ponds built in the garden an authenticity that would otherwise be impossible to achieve.
 

 

Importance of gardening 

Here are some of the reasons why gardening is important:

Happiness

Ornamental plants and flowers bring delight to people. Flowers have always been used for occasions such as dates, weddings, etc. Keeping a garden brings delight to the owner of the garden. Also, having a vegetable or fruit garden helps reduce the hustle of fetching vegetables from grocery stores with the uncertainty of freshness. It is always a delight to provide food that you can readily source from your garden.

Environment

Keeping a garden of vegetables and fruits always ensures that your food is picked fresh as opposed to those in stores that have been plucked when they haven’t matured yet. Having a ready source of vegetable cuts short the entire chain of distribution, transport and packaging. This saves resources and helps prevent wastage and pollution from package that ends up littering the environment.

Health

Gardening practices involving cultivating, mulching, trimming, weeding, harvesting, etc. form part of a good regimen of exercise. Though it may not substitute cardio workouts, the burnout from gardening is healthy for the body. Walking around a beautiful garden has also been argued to be a form of natural therapy, which takes you outside and the surroundings bring you a sense of peace that relieves stress and anxiety.

Community

Gardening helps to create a sense of community, especially if it is done as a group activity. People get to socialize and understand each other, which helps in crime reduction in neighborhoods. Gardening also increases the value of property in the neighborhood, as it adds to the aesthetic value of homes.

Education

Gardening helps us to learn. Before we undertake the practice of gardening, we get down to some research and try ways in which we can make better gardens. Gardening is a learning process in itself, requiring commitment to put information into practice.


The Best Resources for Getting Started With gardening 

If you’re looking to take up gardening, there are a lot of resources to help you get started. From what tools to use, when to start, what seedlings you could use, and the practices you need to keep your garden going, the following resources are very helpful to get you on your gardening hobby.

Common Sense Home - https://commonsensehome.com/start-a-garden/

This website gives a description from beginning of gardening to the harvesting process in 10 steps, as well as comprehensive sources of information to look into. Common Sense Home talks about deciding what you want to grow, where to grow, planning your beds, tools needed for gardening, soil testing, soil preparation, seeds and transplants to use, how to garden carefully, garden nurturing, and harvesting.

Better Homes and Gardens - https://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/garden-care/ten-steps-to-beginning-a-garden/

The process of gardening is also described here in short step by step process. 10 steps have been given to help the beginner to get set for the activity. Better Homes and Gardens describes getting the idea, picking a location, ground clearing, soil improvement, whether to dig or not, the kind of plants to grow, planting, watering, mulching, and keeping up with the entire nurturing process.

Gardeners Supply Company - https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/vegetable-gardening/5069.html

Gardeners Supply Company takes a different approach and offers insight to some of the best practices in gardening. The insights talked about including efficient space utilization, planting in short widths as opposed to rows, trellising, crop rotation, successive planting for continuous harvesting, and good record keeping.

Other websites offering helpful tips include:

Real Simple - https://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/gardening/outdoor/gardening-101 

Gardening tools 

For easier and more productive gardening, having the right tools is the way to go. The following resources provide information to some of the best tools in gardening.

The Family Handyman - https://www.familyhandyman.com/tools/must-have-gardening-tools/view-all/

The tools provided and described include a wheelbarrow, hose pipe and sprinklers, clearing tools, pruning tools, fork, rakes (both leaf and garden types), Hori Hori digging tool, loppers, shovel, and an edging spade.

The Spruce - https://www.thespruce.com/best-gardening-tools-4104448

The website describes some of the best tools to use from digging to planting, to nurturing, and harvesting. The tools described are Felco F-2 classic manual hand pruner, Japanese Hori Hori digging tool, Bully Tools 82515 14-gauge round point shovel, Fiskars 46-inch steel D-handle square garden spade, Black and Decker steel fan rake BD-1537, Stratus RG-202 long-term professional rain and snow gauge, razor-back 24-Tine steel rake, and firm grip grain pigskin large gloves.

Garden Design - https://www.gardendesign.com/how-to/tools.html

The kind of tools described for gardening here is hand trowel, spade, gloves, rake, hoe, long hose with adjustable nozzle and rain wand, loppers, and wheelbarrow.

 

Other useful resources include:

Real Simple - https://www.realsimple.com/work-life/a-guide-to-gardening-tools

Garden Tools – B&Q - https://www.diy.com/departments/outdoor-garden/garden-hand-tools-equipment/DIY780376.cat 


Conclusion

Gardening is a really entertaining hobby and can help you maintain a space full of flowers and plants that can benefit you in your own home. This hobby can also be done in open spaces to enjoy a greater variety of plants. You can have your own vegetables, vegetables and other plants that allows you to save some money at the time of shopping. 

 

 

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Related hobbies: Terrarium, Hydroponics,  Flower arranging

 

 

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