Do you find gardening therapeutic?

[happyflowerlady]

I really enjoy working In the garden also, and it is something that I can still do, although I require Bobby's help doing things more every year it seems.
However, as long as I can still go out there and do SOMETHING , it is good.
It makes me feel like I am accomplishing something, and I am relaxed, and just love watching the plants and flowers, and looking for the buds, and watching for the blossoms.

 

[headfullofbees]

LOL...I just went outside for a bit to check on the volunteer zucchini growing in an old compost spot. (sadly, it won't bear fruit, since it's a loner. ) and got side tracked by weeding. We've had a lot of rain in the last few days and the ground is so soft, the weeds pull so easily! I can't help myself, even though I had other things to do. My Mom used to pick on me for this! We'd be sitting on the deck, relaxing and I'd see ONE weed that needed pulling and then I couldn't stop. I'd shrug my shoulders and say "It's a sickness."

It could bear fruit:
1) If a neighbour close enough is growing zucchini, bees may pollenate your female flowers.
2) If you get some male & female flowers on the plant at the same time, which is something I've DEFINITELY had here in the UK.
You may not get as many per plant as you would if you had a few plants, but you may not get none at all.

 

[ChanellG]

It's become my new favorite pastime. Spending time in the garden is humbling, it's awe-inspiring, and there's no substitute for watching your plants thrive and produce under your care. It thrills me to no end to be visited by butterflies in the morning.

Fortunately I have been able to catch the snails, aphids, cutworms, etc., before they have done any real damage to any of my plants. I lost my carrot sprouts, but nothing else so far. I am keeping a watchful eye on my strawberries just in case the birds decide to take a closer look at my garden.

LOL...I just went outside for a bit to check on the volunteer zucchini growing in an old compost spot. (sadly, it won't bear fruit, since it's a loner. ) and got side tracked by weeding. We've had a lot of rain in the last few days and the ground is so soft, the weeds pull so easily! I can't help myself, even though I had other things to do.

I went outside expressly to do ONE thing, lol... pulled weeds, emptied the collected rainwater, sprayed banana water on every thing that fruits or flowers, put down some eggshells and coffee grinds... it's the green hole, lol!

I forget how to tell the male flowers from the female ones, but you should be able to pollinate that zucchini with a paintbrush. Stuffed squash blossoms are also very delicious!

 

[Babble64]

It's become my new favorite pastime. Spending time in the garden is humbling, it's awe-inspiring, and there's no substitute for watching your plants thrive and produce under your care. It thrills me to no end to be visited by butterflies in the morning.

Fortunately I have been able to catch the snails, aphids, cutworms, etc., before they have done any real damage to any of my plants. I lost my carrot sprouts, but nothing else so far. I am keeping a watchful eye on my strawberries just in case the birds decide to take a closer look at my garden.




I went outside expressly to do ONE thing, lol... pulled weeds, emptied the collected rainwater, sprayed banana water on every thing that fruits or flowers, put down some eggshells and coffee grinds... it's the green hole, lol!

I forget how to tell the male flowers from the female ones, but you should be able to pollinate that zucchini with a paintbrush. Stuffed squash blossoms are also very delicious!

What do I pollinate it with? The pollen from another flower?

 

[ChanellG]

What do I pollinate it with? The pollen from another flower?

I am far from an expert, but my mom just went through issues with her zucchini so from the little reading I have done my understanding is that there are male and female flowers on the same plant and if you don't have enough pollinators you need to do it yourself by hand with a little art brush (think size 5 or smaller).

Here's a link: http://www.ehow.com/how_2317601_hand-pollinate-zucchini.html

Here's another to distinguish between male and female flowers: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/distinguish-between-male-female-zucchini-flowers-35392.html

 

[headfullofbees]

The male flower stalk is long and thin, the female has a proto-zucchini behind it.
Unfortunately, for bio-diversity reasons, the plants tend to produce male flowers first, so that its fruit are more likely to be pollenated by other plants, however, there is often overlap.

You can just pick a male flower, remove the petals, place it into an open female flower & "rub noses".
That's what I tend to do.

 

[ChanellG]

The male flower stalk is long and thin, the female has a proto-zucchini behind it.
Unfortunately, for bio-diversity reasons, the plants tend to produce male flowers first, so that its fruit are more likely to be pollenated by other plants, however, there is often overlap.

You can just pick a male flower, remove the petals, place it into an open female flower & "rub noses".
That's what I tend to do.

That's interesting; I like your pollination method also. Do you use the flower petals for food or do you discard them afterward? Of course, if it were me, I would want to remove the "pollinator" and keep the flower intact so I could stuff it with something.

 

[Babble64]

I am far from an expert, but my mom just went through issues with her zucchini so from the little reading I have done my understanding is that there are male and female flowers on the same plant and if you don't have enough pollinators you need to do it yourself by hand with a little art brush (think size 5 or smaller).

Here's a link: http://www.ehow.com/how_2317601_hand-pollinate-zucchini.html

Here's another to distinguish between male and female flowers: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/distinguish-between-male-female-zucchini-flowers-35392.html

Thanks, Chanell! It looks as if I have only male blossoms so far, but I'll keep a watch. It would be so cool to be able to make this work! (Definitely a step up from my normal gardening habits, which are "let what happens, happen.)

I also have several other volunteer plants from either the squash or melon family. Waiting to see what surprise awaits me there.

 

[ChanellG]

I wish I would find another volunteer tomato plant coming up out of my compost. I got excited seeing the baby leaves poking out a few weeks ago and tried transplanting it too soon :-( I keep seeing sprouted seeds in there, but so far no more tomato plants.

Good luck with your zucchini!

 

[Babble64]

I wish I would find another volunteer tomato plant coming up out of my compost. I got excited seeing the baby leaves poking out a few weeks ago and tried transplanting it too soon :-( I keep seeing sprouted seeds in there, but so far no more tomato plants.

Good luck with your zucchini!

We have an abundance of the tomato plants. So far, still, only male blossoms...but the plant itself is GORGEOUS and I'll enjoy just looking at it even if it doesn't bear fruit!

 

[ChanellG]

You can still stuff or saute those blossoms!

I got excited over the volunteer tomato plant thinking it might possibly be from a seed from one of the yellow ones I had been getting at the market. They were so good! I kept saying I was going to save the seeds and try and grow some and I kept procrastinating and saying I'll do it with the next one. You know how that goes.

 

[Kansas Terri]

Babble64, the female zucchini flowers have what looks like a tiny zucchini right behind the bloom. Those are the flowers that can produce zucchini: the other flowers are male and so all they produce is pollen. And, there are 5-6 male blossoms for every female, which ensures the females have pollen to fertilize them.

As for the therapeutic value of gardening? Many years ago I worked in the basement of a hospital. I worked very hard indeed, for the benefit of patients that I rarely saw, and to receive money that I mostly did not see either. Checks went to the bank and bills were paid by check, but the actual money? I saw that more in theory than in reality.

Gardening was real. If I watered a plant it lived, and if I did not it died. If I raised a vegetable it was part of the meal, and if I raised a flower I got to smell the perfume. Plants could be TOUCHED, as opposed to the money and the patients that I rarely saw! So, every time I got discouraged I would do something outside, where I could actually SEE the benefit of my actions! This was HIGHLY therapeutic!

 

[Babble64]

Babble64, the female zucchini flowers have what looks like a tiny zucchini right behind the bloom. Those are the flowers that can produce zucchini: the other flowers are male and so all they produce is pollen. And, there are 5-6 male blossoms for every female, which ensures the females have pollen to fertilize them.

As for the therapeutic value of gardening? Many years ago I worked in the basement of a hospital. I worked very hard indeed, for the benefit of patients that I rarely saw, and to receive money that I mostly did not see either. Checks went to the bank and bills were paid by check, but the actual money? I saw that more in theory than in reality.

Gardening was real. If I watered a plant it lived, and if I did not it died. If I raised a vegetable it was part of the meal, and if I raised a flower I got to smell the perfume. Plants could be TOUCHED, as opposed to the money and the patients that I rarely saw! So, every time I got discouraged I would do something outside, where I could actually SEE the benefit of my actions! This was HIGHLY therapeutic!

I finally have two female blossoms. Now I just have to hope one of each opens for me to pollinate them before I leave for vacation. If not...I just have to leave them in God's hands. (Way better than mine, for sure!) It was pretty exciting to find the female ones yesterday!!! Thanks for sharing the frequency of male vs. female. Makes sense, but I was getting discouraged!!

 

[Daisylover]

Of course, gardening is one of the most therapeutic things I've ever done. How could it not be? You're out there enjoying the most beautiful things that God gave you so why not be happy about it. Gardening is always so happy to me so I love it very much. You get a little exercise along the way. You get a little stretching along the way. You get to have something to call your own so it's pretty cool. I love gardening.

 

[hollyleann]

Since we moved house and I now I actually have a garden to tend, I have become a very active gardener. To begin with I found it quite intimidating as I had no clue as to what would be best to plant where etc, but I am slowly getting there and now the summer is here and my garden looks wonderful.
I have found that it has become one of the most enjoyable hobbies along with a long list of others, because I find it so incredibly therapeutic. I have always loved being outdoors and there is nothing more satisfying to me at the moment than seeing all my hard work blooming!