On Gardening
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jmbmilholland wrote: »Been gardening since I was a kid, sq ft fir the past five years. The only calorie burn they cite that I think is reasonably accurate is the digging/spading. If I do that for a solid 30 minutes I will burn close to 300 I think. I think the rest are too high, eg planting which requires little effort besides putting in some seed or plants in the ground. I have a bunch to fo tomorrow and don't plan on budgeting it.
Well, think it through for planting. I am doing 10,000 sq ft for the combined gardens. I am chitting potatoes to plant this weekend in 30 ft rows. Probably 6 rows. Once I get the trenches dug, the actual planting part is a combination of walking (100 ish calories per half hour) and body weight squats (418 cals a half hour) for a 150 lb person. Depending on how fast you are working, that's a pretty good burn. Step, squat. Step, squat. Same scenario for setting out a row of corn or peppers. Now it's a completely different story for, say, planting radishes, because you are on your hands and knees delicately putting in seeds an inch apart. I wouldn't budget that. So, you definitely have to have a feel for how much you are burning and be honest about you effort. But you don't think a lot of extended planting is a better burn than a moderate 3.0 mph walk of the same duration?
Whoa - 10,000 sf! That's a farm, not a garden. LOL. No doubt, maintaining that every year is going to burn some calories. I do sq ft gardening which is much less intense in terms of work, pesticides, fertilizer, water and of course space. I'll admit to being a bit lazy. On a normal year the amount of work I put into it is quite small, hoeing the soil and planting which takes about 10 minutes per box. This year I rehabbed all my boxes, replacing the rotten wood and rejuvenating the soil. I do that about every five years. Now that burns calories (I lost two pounds doing it!) and it reminds me of just how much work it used to be for me when I row cropped. It can be quite a workout as you say.
Here's a photo of my bush beans. 128 plants in this 16 sq ft box. If I row-cropped them, it would require 70 sq ft (each plant 3 inches apart in 3 rows of 10 ft). I do cover them to avoid beetles, but other than that I pretty much leave them alone until picking. 3 picks a season, the last is pretty small. I've moved away from wooden cages to pvc cages which I can store in the basement and redo with bridal dress tule from walmart each year, much cheaper and easier.
Don't let my husband hear you using the word "farm" around me...I have already told him I want a trailer, a Farm-All, or a kayak for Mother's Day. And actually I lied about the 10,000--it is more like 7,000 between the two properties; the higher number included my lake garden, so my farm has become less impressive. I am now old and losing my rememory.
I haven't done Sq Ft gardening, but at home I do very intensive compost-based gardening which is along the same lines, while at the community garden...it is on very sandy soil, and our compost piles just seem to turn into more sand. And we don't have a ton of money to pour into a property that is not ours. So it's more along the lines of Steve Solomon's "Gardening in Hard Times" practice, but we do mulch with straw.
That is a beautiful raised bed and cage! And those greenbeans look fabulous....my radishes haven't even started to peek out yet. Apparently not fans of the weather.
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lithezebra wrote: »I don't know what the debate is. Gardening is good physical activity, and often results in healthy food to eat. I love the idea of gardening, and don't have time to do it.
I thought about making this a little more contentious ("DO YOU EVEN GARDEN?" complete with a flow chart) but thought a more effective debate style is the art of gentle persuasion, kind of a "Debate and Pickling Club."
I think a lot of people in this country would be in a lot better shape, with their physical and mental health, as well as their community beautification, personal independence and financial situation, if they took the time to grow some of the their food. I am a huge admirer of Thomas Jefferson and his vision of an agrarian democracy, but, while debatable, that's getting into the philosophical weeds. If I can give people a gentle nudge and help encourage the to take another step, that makes me happy.
It was less than a year ago, when the thought of working out made me shut down and say I. JUST. CANNOT. EVEN. Now I'm doing some combination of running, other cardio, and lifting every day and it is entrenched in my lifestyle. Gardening is a similar mental and physical commitment. (Plus you get strawberries).
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lemurcat12 wrote: »
Snowing here near Boston as well. Mother's Day is the safe date for warm annuals. Cool annuals like peas can be planted as soon as the soil is 40-45 degrees F, which for me was March 7. Vegetable Planting Guide.
Since a blanket of snow won’t hurt emerging pea plants, but several days with temperatures in the teens could and we were expecting several cold days, I covered them with this mini greenhouse: TunLcover - Row Cover and Plant Protector, 2-Pack 18 Feet Each.
I put it up Sunday, when it was 41 degrees out and sunny, went to the gym, and when I came back the thermometer I'd put under it read 71 degrees. I'm going to need to be careful to remove it or give it more ventilation on warm days.
Snap, I wish I'd put the thermometer out there today when it was in the 20s and snowing.
Yesterday, I also put the extra row cover over the bok choy seeds I planted April 1, and some black plastic over the swiss chard and green onion seeds I planted that same day.
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jmbmilholland wrote: »lithezebra wrote: »I don't know what the debate is. Gardening is good physical activity, and often results in healthy food to eat. I love the idea of gardening, and don't have time to do it.
I thought about making this a little more contentious ("DO YOU EVEN GARDEN?" complete with a flow chart) but thought a more effective debate style is the art of gentle persuasion, kind of a "Debate and Pickling Club." I think a lot of people in this country would be in a lot better shape, with their physical and mental health, as well as their community beautification, personal independence and financial situation, if they took the time to grow some of the their food. I am a huge admirer of Thomas Jefferson and his vision of an agrarian democracy, but, while debatable, that's getting into the philosophical weeds. If I can give people a gentle nudge and help encourage the to take another step, that makes me happy.
It was less than a year ago, when the thought of working out made me shut down and say I. JUST. CANNOT. EVEN. Now I'm doing some combination of running, other cardio, and lifting every day and it is entrenched in my lifestyle. Gardening is a similar mental and physical commitment. (Plus you get strawberries).
Oh boy did I get strawberries last year. Nom nom nom. I froze what I couldn't eat right away. My strawberry plants spread like weeds and I give these excess plants away on freecycle.0 -
I have a small garden. Eating what I have grown is awesome. The pride tastes good! I eat more vegetables when I grow them. Sometimes I wish I had more people to feed so I could have a bigger garden. I can what we don't eat. It's great in the winter to have summer squash.
Other than steps I take, I don't log the exercise I get. I consider it every day activity. I move slow though. The days where it's a lot of work, I figure it's extra calorie deficit.
Mentally it's relaxing. I like providing fresh food for my family. If it's a good year, it really does save money. Starting the seeds in the house gets me through the end of winter and beginning of Spring. It's fun watching the plants grow.
It is a lot of work and can be disappointing when it doesn't perform well because weather or my lack of effort. Animals eating before I can harvest is really aggravating! Deer, bears and chipmunks enjoy fresh veggies.
I started with a small patch of blueberries. Now I have the blueberries, tomatos, potatoes and spinach. Fresh spinach is really something special. I have grown others but these seem to be the best as there isn't much waste and they perform well.
If you aren't sure, start small. If you don't have a yard or bad dirt use containers. A container, dirt and a plant or seeds wouldn't be more than $10. If you have a yard, you can easily plant a couple of seeds or plants. You don't need any equipment like a big shovel if you start small.
Mom hasn't had good luck with spinach here - it bolts. I'm going to try it this year though, and mulch the heck out of it and make sure it gets the water it needs. She's a mulcher, but a sporadic waterer.
Swiss chard is indestructible here - all the pests leave it alone and it goes from April - November and even December. The summers destroy most cool annuals.0 -
jmbmilholland wrote: »Been gardening since I was a kid, sq ft fir the past five years. The only calorie burn they cite that I think is reasonably accurate is the digging/spading. If I do that for a solid 30 minutes I will burn close to 300 I think. I think the rest are too high, eg planting which requires little effort besides putting in some seed or plants in the ground. I have a bunch to fo tomorrow and don't plan on budgeting it.
Well, think it through for planting. I am doing 10,000 sq ft for the combined gardens. I am chitting potatoes to plant this weekend in 30 ft rows. Probably 6 rows. Once I get the trenches dug, the actual planting part is a combination of walking (100 ish calories per half hour) and body weight squats (418 cals a half hour) for a 150 lb person. Depending on how fast you are working, that's a pretty good burn. Step, squat. Step, squat. Same scenario for setting out a row of corn or peppers. Now it's a completely different story for, say, planting radishes, because you are on your hands and knees delicately putting in seeds an inch apart. I wouldn't budget that. So, you definitely have to have a feel for how much you are burning and be honest about you effort. But you don't think a lot of extended planting is a better burn than a moderate 3.0 mph walk of the same duration?
...Here's a photo of my bush beans. 128 plants in this 16 sq ft box. If I row-cropped them, it would require 70 sq ft (each plant 3 inches apart in 3 rows of 10 ft). I do cover them to avoid beetles, but other than that I pretty much leave them alone until picking. 3 picks a season, the last is pretty small. I've moved away from wooden cages to pvc cages which I can store in the basement and redo with bridal dress tule from walmart each year, much cheaper and easier.
I was thinking of covering my kale with floating row covers this year - mom did last year and said she thought they were also more tender. But what is that fabric in your picture? The bridal dress tule you mentioned?
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Yep the cage is covered with the tule.0
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While I love having fresh lettuce and tomatoes, sweet corn and strawberries, these beauties hold my heart. My home has extensive flower beds, and I'll be expanding them again this year!
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@tomteboda Absolutely stunning. I'm also jealous you have such a nice view and a body of water. I live in the city so I'm only limited to a small area of nice things around the house surrounded by walls (and traffic.. and pollution
)
Well, at least I have these:
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While I love having fresh lettuce and tomatoes, sweet corn and strawberries, these beauties hold my heart. My home has extensive flower beds, and I'll be expanding them again this year!
I envy those of you who can grow such nice roses! Here in central Ohio it takes a lot of effort, fighting disease and the like. What part of the country are you in?0 -
The flowers are so beautiful. Threads like this make me almost want a real yard (but oh, well, the tradeoffs are worth it for me).0
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@amusedmonkey you have a lovely garden!
@Ws2016 I live in Minnesota. The heirloom roses are pretty easy, but I really have to baby the tea roses along, we're just a bit too cold here for them but I cover them in the fall.0 -
Wow! Such beauty! Thank you for sharing.0
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My idea of "gardening fitness" is to walk to the farmers' market.
I admire people who devote all the time & effort to gardening. I have a tiny urban yard, but I plant a couple small flower beds. It's nothing compared to true gardeners.0 -
Gardening is my therapy! It is also my workout during the gardening season here in MI. I also can spend hours outside in my many gardens. I love the rewards of the fresh vegetables and being able to can and freeze what I grow. I have been gardening since I was a child. My parents always had a big garden and I have continued to do it on my own. All of my 4 children have carried on the gardening also. I have a brand new yard this year with an acre of land to plant new flower gardens and a BIG garden this year. I work full time, but the garden gives me a place to go when I need a time out! It helps me relive stress. I love finding new recipes to use all of my fresh vegetables. This year I will be planting more cucumbers, and lettuce for fresh salads. A little less than a month before I can start my way to growing my own goodness!!0
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Oh my! I love gardening! I started 2 years ago with a container garden on my porch. My best friend and my husband called it the Jungle. I had corn growing even. LOL! Yes, corn grows in containers. I currently have potatoes, asparagus, peas, and onions planted. I also have two grape vines and a blueberry bush that are in their second year. I had three more blueberry bushes, but they died over winter. Not sure why. I have to buy another blueberry bush soon.0
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@tomteboda what a beautiful garden! Now you are making me yearn for summer, although I can't tell a Minnesota girl anything about that. What is the tree with orange fruits?
You're going to think I'm a heretic, but I used to ONLY do perennials, but now I am editing out a lot of perennials to add in fruit trees. For example, taking out 10 of the 15 "festiva maxima" peonies the previous owner planted, or giving away some of the hundred-odd garden phlox. We have 8-ft beds going around the entire property, and every spring I am digging out more and more "bulk" perennials and replacing them with boxwoods, hydrangeas, roses, lilies, hellebores, and more carefully curated peonies.
Edited to add:
Regrettably, I have no summer pictures on my phone, so I will freeze everyone's knickers with some photos I took while carrying pots, moving plants inside from the unheated mini greenhouse and digging leeks on Saturday. Fortunately we have a brick carriage house that retains warmth and is a nice place for working even on the worst days. In the picture with the car, in the foreground you can see my beloved peach tree, one of my strawberry patches (you would be surprised at the huge yield from such a tiny space), and some herbs tucked around. I will also plant eggplants and peppers in the perennial parts of the garden, because they stay pretty through the summer and integrate well with the perennials.
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I garden, but all landscape plants. I'd like to start some vegetable and fruit, but I have a small plot that doesn't have much full sun area. Not even the roses get full sun. I'd need to spend a good bit of time to build up some small beds and prep the soil (I've got heavy black clay) and I just have never gotten around to it.
Plus, the one veg I really want to grow (tomato) is a real PITA in this area. It's often too hot to set the fruit by the time the plant is mature, so super-early sowing or gambling on fall planting is necessary.
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What a great thread. Of course gardening / landscaping burns calories. Just wear a tracker. I think the data posted by the OP is excellent. To log or not log any specific movement is a personal decision.
A lifelong gardener and landscape professional, I live off the fruits of 40 year old chestnut trees and heritage fruit trees that I started in my 20's from 12" liners (babies). If you own your property I encourage you to plant fruit and nut trees, bushes and vines. Incorporate edibles into your organic home landscape plan. Just make sure the plants have room to mature.
Most important advice for beginners: every season is different. A crop failure is not a life failure. One year tomatoes will be abundant and will overwhelm, another season it might be spinach or pot celery and tomatoes are a bust. Life is like that.
Gardening is a life skill. Book learning and getting your hands dirty, flexibility, and acceptance of failures, making the most of abundance and the joys of success these are all the lessons you can learn in a garden.
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@stealthq what is that peach rose? Is it a David Austin heirloom? I love it! Roses love Texas, and Texas loves roses.
Seed Savers, an heirloom seed organization, used to have some tomato fanatics from Texas on it, but I don't think the forums exist any longer. If I remember correctly, they would have to do tomatoes that produce earlier before the heat causes the blossoms to fall. If you do a determinate (ripens all at once) like Early Girl, you might get in a crop. If you do an indeterminate (bears over an extended period and the vines keep growing) it might (just guessing) go dormant over the summer but then start up again in the fall. But at least that way you have a head start with the plant. Partial sun might be a blessing rather than a curse in this case.
@Notreadytoquit I heart that mossy heart!
Now I wish I had a mossy heart icon. 0
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