Down and out needing to garden for my grief

[Jae]

Welcome Jae,
Gardening is indeed therapeutic. It can cure a host of ills. May I ask what part of the country are you gardening in??

Hello! The Northeast and the Temp zone is..i'll be right back lol

 

[Jae]

Hello! The Northeast and the Temp zone is..i'll be right back lol

5/6 Zone

 

[flowerbug]

how would i go about this ? i've been gardening for decades but never needed it as I do now..

do you have any local seed libraries?

plus there are some of us on-line who will send beans to people that want them.

but before doing any of that it is a good idea to think about what you like to grow, your space that you have for growing things and then also what you like to eat. if you don't like beans my suggestion is not the best...

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

@Jae I agree with the many experienced gardeners on this forum. It would be good to add your state and growing zone. What are some of your favorite plants , how big is your garden and what can we do to help you garden wise at this time.

Have you grown amaryllis ? Big box stores have many differnt varieties and brings colorful blooms inside during the cold winters. Also paper whites, and hyacinth are wonderful inside bulbs easy to grow to bring blooms inside.

Sending healing blessings your way.

 

[baymule]

What do you like to grow? Got any favorites? Welcome to the forum, everyone here loves dirt therapy!

 

[Jae]

do you have any local seed libraries?

plus there are some of us on-line who will send beans to people that want them.

but before doing any of that it is a good idea to think about what you like to grow, your space that you have for growing things and then also what you like to eat. if you don't like beans my suggestion is not the best...

I love love love beans, lol. I plant string beans and just one plant was so abundantbut I want to be able to eat them every day so I will be planting more of them next season.
I plant flowers to attrack butterflies ie; milkweed, common and swamp, impatiens, zinnia's (they love), foxglove beardtongue, sunflowers I grow from seed. ( so easy to grow them). Also coneflowers, daisies, mouse ear chickweed, butterflly weed, Kentucky bluegrass, sweet williams, I planted a few others but this makes me realize I need to keep a gardening journal !!! Does anyone have any other suggestions to attrack them ?
As far as what I like to eat; this year I planted cukes, tomato's, string beans, strawberries, peas, cabbage, and in the past I have planted corn(when I lived in Kentucky--the soil has lime and was spectacular) In KY I planted butternut squash; it grew great. As I write this I realize I could add lime to my soil?? Anyone have ideas or is this an option ? Also you mention seed libraries ? Do you mean like browse through a catalog and order ahead of the season? I have an online acct with Boston Public Library; do you mean check out those resources? Sometimes a fog takes over my brain I hope I am not boring you, I am so happy to find like-minded people; who are so generous!! I've tried many support groups for my issues but I haven't had the excitement I have found now, so many thanks to all!! And absolutely I would love some bean seeds or I can get my own, thanks so much for your thoughtful response and help!

 

[Jae]

What do you like to grow? Got any favorites? Welcome to the forum, everyone here loves dirt therapy!

Hi ! So glad to be here!!! Absolutely love dirt therapy and like-minded souls ... I love zinnia's ! Daisy's but my problem this year is my soil. I need help with this. I have to plant in pots because we have many bunnies, rodents too, a woodchuck or two, squirrels, and my three dogs I have to constantly chase out of my garden. I bought a 50 foot fencing to place around the garden for next year. Just for my vegetables with all my plants outside of it surrounding it. I think it may be more pleasing to look at, not like this years, I haven't been able to get off my couch for two years now so this years garden was haphazard.

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

@Jae having ground critters makes it so frustrating to grow a garden. I have battled mice, voles, gophers, moles and ground squirrels. I finally eliminated the gophers, moles, ground squirrels by trapping with special traps. And deer . I have to admit it takes consistancy every day vigilance. But it was well worth the daily journey to eliminate the deer from the garden and pastures too. The deer jumped a 6’ fence and the ground critters were having a field day digging tunnels under the fences and other ground blockades.
It’s peaceful around the gardens and pastures now I can’t believe it took me so long to just figure out a daily routine to finally be able to grow favorite plants and enjoy them.

 

[Jae]

@Jae having ground critters imakes it so frustrating to grow a garden. I have battled mice, voles, gophers, moles and ground squirrels. I finally eliminated the gophers, moles, ground squirrels by trapping with special traps. And deer . I have to admit it takes consistancy every day vigilance. But it was well worth the daily journey to eliminate the deer from the garden and pastures too. The deer jumped a 6’ fence and the ground critters were having a field day . It’s peaceful around the gardens and pastures now I can’t believe it took me so long to just figure out a routine to finally be able to grow plants and enjoy them.

Wow! A lot of work-I forgot deer jumped that high--
I hope I too can stop the critters. The ruined my cabbage and I would find my tomato's sitting on the ground with one/two nibbles out of them, grrr.
I will have to check out traps but I happen to Love rabbits and bunnies. When I sit outside just reading, they will hop and play with each other just playing on two legs. Brings me such joy. I am hoping my fencing I am putting up will eliminate the creatures as it has very small width space, has a locked gate. Will see...
Thanks for writing back

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

@Jae oh gosh I forgot about the bunny’s. My cats are good at keeping them at bay, dogs chase the chipmunks and squirrels out. I haven’t quite figured out how to stop chipmunks. Stopped feeding the birds helps, but in fall they like gathering the seed from plants and the squirrels like the hazelnut trees. So there is some sharing there. But they are not as destructive as the other ground critters. This season I have seen flowers from perennials that I haven’t seen in ages just by eliminating deer. It’s a zoo out there.