The sun is shining brightly
and the primroses and pansies are already on sale. An Article in the Home and Garden section of
the Herald (Thursday, February 18, 2010) by Dean Fosdick caught my interest
because it focused on gardening with ease.
Container Gardening is ideal for those of you who have downsized into a
smaller home or have had to give up gardening for various reasons. I love the idea of gardening but my thumb has
never been green enough to have much success.
I live in hope though and just maybe this will work for me. I enjoyed reading about this particular
secret for simpler gardening and think it might be fun to try. Simple and fun are definitely words in my
vocabulary.
The article deals with
planting directly into a plastic bag (gardening in a bag) that contains potting
soil. Gardening in a bag means you can
put your container anywhere you wish.
You simply put your seeds right in the bag and cover them with mulch.
If you are dealing with a
chronic illness, you are constantly looking for an easier ways to do even the
simple things in life. A traditional
garden might be too hard and too much work but you don’t have to give up. It will give you a good feeling to still be
able to grow your own flowers or vegetables.
The cost is relatively
cheap. The biggest outlay is buying a
bag of potting mix and then a big box of heavy duty freezer bags in pint and quart
sizes. Choose something easy to grow
like basil, chives or lettuce (I’ve always wanted an herb garden and this might
be my chance, although the last time I tried to grow chives was a hoot… but
that is another brown thumb story). Fill
the bag with soil. Fill the bag to
within a couple of inches of the top.
Sprinkle with a few seeds and cover lightly with soil. Water so that the top few inches of soil are
moist and zip the bag shut. One article
I read mentioned slitting drainage holes in the sides and bottoms and one did
not, so that idea is up for grabs). The
bags are light weight enough that you can move them around to follow the sun
(this is the aspect that I like as my yard is quite shady). You can even arrange the bags vertically to
eliminate the need for stooping or bending.
Let me know if you have tried this method of gardening. It sounds like a good idea to me.
This new site has everything for the generation over 50--articles about arts & entertainment, gardening and the environment, financial advice, retirement advice, health tips, and so much more...it's a community where we can share and enjoy!
www.tos50.com
(The Other Side of 50)
Posted by: Christine Smith | February 23, 2010 at 08:00 AM