Pandemic Gardens

 Above: My Vegetable Garden July 2020

(you can tell it's July, see the hoses?)

Have you started a pandemic garden? You know, stuck at home, bored, worried about food production and the food delivery chain? So you rushed to the garden center, with the other panicked people, and grabbed what you could find? It was a thing, and I still hope is a thing, to start a garden in times like these.  My worry is that people will try this once, then give up.

I have been gardening since I was pretty young, under 10.  I have had my share of disasters and successes.  We've all had that $50 tomato, or that $45 zucchini (random numbers chosen). I realized early on that, especially as an organic gardener, I had to be willing to let a crop go, get eaten up, croak from the conditions, in order to learn what to plant and what to avoid...also, to learn how to deal organically with pests and diseases in the plants I loved. A crop failure is a sure way to lose interest in gardening. In this case, step back, assess, and plan for the future (see below).

Another important lesson I have learned is what to do with all that produce, all at once (this is a good thing, right?)  I learned to can, pickle, properly freeze, and dehydrate fruits and vegetables (I don't pressure can, so limit myself to high acid foods, pickles, jams and jellies).  I make recipes in batches for the freezer (see my upcoming roasted eggplant recipe in this blog). Novice gardeners can feel overwhelmed with too much produce for which they are unprepared!  I learned early on that ONE zucchini plant was enough for us, but 12 tomato plants were too few!  (Note: someone who does not cook, probably should have a limited garden of produce they like to eat fresh).

If you know people who started a garden recently, provide encouragement.  Give them suggestions, help them distribute unwanted produce to neighbors, friends, or the food bank (I can eat a lot of kale, but most people cannot). Give them recipes, share how to can or freeze or otherwise use the harvest. But, the most important lesson to communicate is to plan the vegetable garden in advance. Oh, something will still go wrong, but planning helps make vegetable and fruit gardening a far more rewarding experience (not that I don't take a little risk now and again...see upcoming column on growing ginger!).