I have to admit that this is a really strange and scary time that we are living in. Living in Florida, I have experienced my fair share of hurricane hoarders and panic but I’ve never experienced anything like the panic that I’m seeing now. Social distancing and quarantine are words that are now in our everyday vocabulary now, especially since states have started to shut down to prevent the COVID19 from spreading.
If you are social distancing or under quarantine, I just want to throw out a few ideas for some garden projects to do in your newfound free time. None of these require you to leave your home so there are no excuses!
Organize your seed collection.
Ok, so maybe you don’t have the right container or box that you wanted for your perfect seed storage but searching 3 hours for tomato seeds is such a waste of your time. Take an hour or two and just organize your seeds into categories. It doesn’t need to be perfect but get some order in going in whatever container you’re storing your seeds in. If you don’t have a seed collection, look at seeds and make a list of things you want to grow. My favorite seed vendors are MIgardener and Baker Creek.
Plan out your next gardening season.
Some of us here in zone 9b have already been in garden season for a couple of weeks and some of you up north haven’t even started. Wherever you’re at, finalize your garden plans while in quarantine. For me, I have to finalize my garden bed layout and I want to go ahead and mark my calendar for seed starting dates for Fall/Winter 2020 garden bed. I want to expand my growing experience with brassicas and need to be sure I start them properly (on time) to get a harvest. I might even draw out a bed layout for a temporary plan.
Organize your garden supplies.
Like the seeds, I’m sure you have fertilizers and tools just placed here and there. While my storage inside is pretty well organized, my outdoor garden storage is a mess. Piles and piles of pots in complete disarray next to my bed. I hate how it looks and it’s just one of those things that I have been putting off organizing. I just need to do it! Also, you might find you are severely low on fish fertilizer or fungicide. Maybe you realize that you thought you had extra seed starting bags but don’t.
Finish the miscellaneous projects that you’ve been putting off.
So I have three projects that I have been putting off doing. I literally have all the supplies but always give the excuse of not having time to actually complete them. My first project is my unfinished garden trellis. I have a small trellis I’ve made from PVC and twine but threading the twine is so time-consuming that I only did a few horizontal lines and was done. I still need to finish this project and I started it in 2019…. My second garden project is to build my second rais bed. Chris and I decided that with the current shortage of food and the unknown of the future, it would be better to be safe than sorry. My third garden project is to use twine to divide my bed into visual square feet. Again just one of those things that I keep putting off but will need to do before I really direct sow and transplant my seeds. If you’re interested in square foot gardening, this is the book that I’m learning from. If you need a project, making a DIY Compost Bin is a great place to start!
Research new ways to preserve your garden harvest.
As a newbie gardener with a small space, I don’t think I will get a huge harvest that will overwhelm me with produce. That being said, I do want to try and preserve a little bit of what I grow. For the garden beds that I currently have, I know that I’m growing cucumbers but don’t typically like fresh cucumbers and love pickles. So I’m going to take some time to look up a few pickle and relish recipes and make a list of what I will need. I’m going to stick that list in my planner for the projected harvest date. That way when it’s time to harvest, I’ll know exactly what I need to get to make my pickles,
I hope you’re all staying safe and healthy during social distancing and quarantine. I would be lying to say if I’m not worrying about how this pandemic is going to affect our economies. But as Jess from Roots and Refuge always says, turn your waiting room into your classroom. I’m going to choose to focus on the things I can control and not on what I can’t. Let me know what you guys are going to do if you are quarantined!
