Essential Green Thumb Qualities for Gardening Greatness

Essential Green Thumb Qualities for Gardening GreatnessOliva Wilson – Gardening is more than just a hobby or a way to beautify your outdoor space. It’s a journey of growth, learning, and connection with nature. Yet, what does it truly mean to be a successful gardener?

Is it about yielding the most luscious tomatoes, cultivating an enviable flower bed, or is it something deeper, more intrinsic? Let’s delve into the essence of gardening success, exploring the key attributes that empower gardeners to thrive and create verdant sanctuaries. Continue reading

Gardening Together for a Sustainable Future

Growing Together for a Sustainable FutureAmelia Harris – In a world facing unprecedented environmental challenges and a growing disconnection from nature, community gardens have emerged as powerful catalysts for positive change. These communal spaces bring people together, fostering a profound sense of belonging and nourishing both bodies and souls.

By providing an opportunity for urban residents to reconnect with nature, cultivate sustainable practices, and promote local biodiversity, community gardens play a pivotal role in shaping a greener and more sustainable future. Continue reading

These Easy-to-grow Weird Vegetables Are Quite Delicious

Angela Gates – It’s easy to fall into a predictable habit when you garden. You plant a few of your favorite vegetables and some flowers, and consider your crop selection over.

In doing so, you may have overlooked a few of some of the most unique (and even weird) plants that you could (and should) grow. It’s time to take your garden to the next level. Instead of simply planning the same standard garden this year that you’ve always done, spruce it up with a few of these unique plants.

1. Black tomatoes

gardeningLove tomatoes? Add some visual appeal to your tomato crop by planting the Indigo Rose tomato – also known as black tomatoes. These antioxidant-rich tomatoes are healthier than their traditional red counterparts, but are just as easy to grow. With their striking black color, these tomatoes have a dark skin, but the interior is fleshy and savory.

2. Kohlrabi

Earning a place in the “oddest looking” category, kohlrabi comes in bright purple, white or green. Part of the cabbage family, this colorful plant might be the closest you get to an alien encounter – and you won’t even have to leave your garden. Perfect for gardens in cooler weather, the kohlrabi is a cross between the cucumber and the radish. Continue reading

Exercise Can Cut Alzheimer’s By 50 Percent

activity Regular physical activity, including gardening or dancing, may cut Alzheimer’s risk by as much as 50 percent, a new study suggests.

Researchers who analyzed lifestyle habits and brain scans of nearly 900 older adults found that any activity that gets you moving on a regular basis seems to help the brain increase gray matter. This, in turn, may keep dementia at bay, they suggested.

“Any type of physical activity that burns calories — from jogging to gardening to walking to dancing — is associated with more gray matter in the brain,” said lead researcher Dr. Cyrus Raji. He is a postdoctoral researcher in radiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“The most important thing is that it’s regular,” Raji said.

More gray matter means a healthier brain and correlates with a reduced risk for Alzheimer’s disease, Raji said.

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Organic Farming Saves Soil From Conventional Farming Damage

 “Our study shows how effectively own-growers manage soils, and it demonstrates how much modern agricultural practices damage soils.” Dr. J Edmondson

There has been a huge resurgence of gardening in recent years – and for good reason. More people are watching the toxic, conventional food system and deciding to opt out whenever possible, setting up their own gardens, working with neighbors in community gardens, or supporting local small farmers through markets and co-ops. The trend isn’t only taking place in the U.S., but in Britain too, where a new study indicates these smaller food producers are leaving the soil much healthier than their large-scale counterparts.

The research comes from the British Ecological Society. It says that commercial farming results in damaged soil, with declines in necessary carbon stocks, damaged soil structure, and a reduction in the ability to retain water and nutrients. Small-scale growing, on the other hand, with its diverse planting and organic methods, leaves the soil intact and enriched.

In certain areas, British citizens are able to apply for allotments, plots of land where they are allowed to grow food in otherwise urban settings. Currently, there is a waiting list of more than 90,000 people attempting to grow on these allotments. This latest study calls on the government to expand the program in the interest of both health and soil conservation. Continue reading