{"id":7086,"date":"2020-05-13T15:01:37","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T19:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dinnertime.com\/content\/?p=7086"},"modified":"2020-05-13T15:01:37","modified_gmt":"2020-05-13T19:01:37","slug":"victory-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/2020\/05\/13\/victory-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"Victory Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"My mother loves to garden. She likes to weed and dig her hands in the soil! Me, I love the results<\/em> of gardening. You don’t have to be a master gardner like my mom to reap a bountiful supply of veggies and herbs. Trust me! My gardens are never perfectly neat and sometimes my carrots look a little weird…but they taste great.<\/p>\n

This year, many folks are looking to set up their own “victory” garden<\/a>. It’s a way to ensure you have healthy organic produce and herbs without going to the market. Sharing the joy and benefits of gardening is one of those silver linings I’m grateful for during this Covid-19 period.
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Tender lettuce and\u00a0spinach<\/a>, sweet tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, loads of colorful peppers, zucchini, beans and more are the best reward for my work. Gardening is also good exercise, burning about 270 calories per hour. I find it good for my soul. I forget my to-do list as I talk to my plants. Yes, I talk to my plants (or maybe I’m really talking to myself!) Those conversations, the exercise and getting dirty is cathartic, and I am all the more appreciative of my garden. As Mahatma Gandhi put it, To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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There’s no excuse not to do some type of gardening! Think of all the places you can grow a plant – a pot by your door, in the kitchen window, or even a planter on a fire escape provide ample opportunities to grow your own delicious veggies and herbs. I have a big garden space with raised beds, but I also throw in some parsley seeds next to a hedge and plant a couple cherry tomato plants on the edge of my flower garden. I had one neighbor that planted their entire\u00a0front lawn as a vegetable garden.<\/a>\u00a0They didn\u2019t have a backyard and they thought the sight of their thriving garden was more beautiful than a manicured front lawn. Everyone in the neighborhood would stop by and admire their garden.\"\"<\/p>\n

Gardening with children is really fun. Their wonder and excitement as the plants grow and are harvested is infectious. Author\u00a0Jeff Cox<\/a>\u00a0said, The garden is a love song, a duet between a human being and Mother Nature.<\/em><\/span> Kids seem to feel the connection with the earth as they help us garden, once again reminding us to appreciate the simpler things in life.<\/p>\n

Preparing the soil, planting seeds by following instructions, weeding, watering, and eventually picking the ripe vegetables teach our children valuable lessons. They learn that hard work reaps delicious and\u00a0healthy benefits<\/a>. Plus, children who garden will try more variety on their dinner plates.\u00a0 My children love to eat freshly picked peas right from the pod. They think they are sweet like candy. Go figure! Big win for Mom.<\/p>\n

Here are a few tips to get your Victory Garden started<\/h3>\n
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  1. Check\u00a0this chart<\/a>\u00a0to learn the \u00a0planting zone\u00a0for your area. This will help you determine the right time to plant various seeds and plants so frost won\u2019t affect their ability to thrive. You may be able to sow some seeds and plants now, while others will need warmer weather before you put them outside.<\/li>\n
  2. Plant your veggies and herbs in a pot or garden in a location that will get at least six hours of sun.<\/li>\n
  3. Plant in an area where strong rain or winds won\u2019t wash away your seeds or young plants.<\/li>\n
  4. Turn your soil so it is looser than average ground. Do this with a spade, or in a bigger garden use a hoe or rototiller. This allows the roots to grow more freely and reduces root rot. It is also a good time to work in any\u00a0compost<\/a>\u00a0to enrich the soil.<\/li>\n
  5. Plan out your garden area. Spacing is important. Read the back of your seed packets for guidelines for maximum results.\"\"<\/li>\n
  6. Be aware, some\u00a0plants do better<\/a>\u00a0together and others will impede growth of their neighbor.<\/li>\n
  7. Water well<\/a>\u00a0in the first weeks; once a day for the first week and then you can slowly wean down to two to three times per week. Container pots will likely need to be watered daily as they tend to dry out faster. In fact, some plants and seeds<\/a> do well if you\u00a0soak<\/a>\u00a0them in water before planting.<\/li>\n
  8. \u00a0Remember to plant herbs too. Fresh basil and tomato is a delicious combination!\"\"<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Essential advice for the gardener: grow peas of mind, lettuce be thankful, squash selfishness, turnip to help thy neighbor, and always make thyme for loved ones. ~Author Unknown<\/em><\/h2>\n

    Remember you can keep track of what you have harvested in your\u00a0DinnerTime Pantry<\/a>.\u00a0Indicate you want to “use soon” for it to be advantaged in your next meal plan.<\/p>\n

    Try these beautiful, easy and delicious springtime recipes.<\/h3>\n

    Search for more recipes in the\u00a0DinnerTime Recipe Box<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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    Penne with Spring Vegetables<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
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    Spring Thyme Salmon<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
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    Paprika-Chicken, Asparagus and Sun-Dried Tomato Skillet<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    Yum! Fresh Veggies and Pasta.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Flavorful and beautiful.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    Easy to make one pan meal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    My mother loves to garden. She likes to weed and dig her hands in the soil! Me, I love the results of gardening. You don’t have to be a master gardner like my mom to reap a bountiful supply of… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7086"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}