In a time where gardening seems to be coming into play in people’s minds, many of our participants in this years’ Grow Appalachia have begun their gardening.  Many of our gardens were plowed this past weekend while the weather was nice here in Eastern Kentucky, and while we are practicing social distancing during the time of the COVID-19.

 

Gardening seems to be a perfect avenue to keep you busy and keep your mind and body fulfilled.  These gardens will be lots of hard work; however, many will reap the benefits in the near future and even further down the road when the canning of their crop begins.  Canning is something that would be handy in this pandemic that we are in; having the ability to be self sufficient and not having to depend on grocery stores when the supply is low or not available and also while trying to stay Healthy at Home.  I know even for my family, we plan on becoming less reliant on grocery stores for many of our fruits and vegetables this year.  My parents have always been gardeners and we have reaped the benefits of their hard labor for years.  While we have gardened some in the past, this year my husband is beginning a new hobby for himself.  He has started many of his own plants in his make-do greenhouse in our garage until he can have his own greenhouse, and these plants are thriving and just eagerly awaiting there time to shine in the garden.  He has also begun preparing his field for strawberries and more, and has currently been planting more berry vines.

While we do not know the certainty of this pandemic, we do not that one thing is definite during this time of uncertainty, people will need to eat and what better way to do so than to eat fresh fruits and veggies.  As we begin this growing season with our participants, we are getting creative in our thinking in order to provide them with the items they need for their gardens.  We are contacting them and packaging various seeds and plants for them to pickup at our office while practicing our social distancing skills.  They are all very eager to begin their gardens and stay focused on their crops and not the pandemic at hand.  Hopefully in a few months, we can look back and reap what we have sown, so to speak, and continue to be Healthy at Home.