• Judi Gerber
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Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/five-benefits-of-gardening.html#ixzz1n7SXCf9h

Each April, the National Gardening Association (NGA), sponsors National Garden Month to encourage individuals to garden.

As I wrote about last year, the NGA encourages everyone to join in this yearly celebration to make “America a greener, healthier, more livable place.”

Aside from improving our environment and having your own source of flowers, fruit and vegetables, we often overlook the other benefits that gardening provides us.

To start with, gardening really is exercise. The physical benefits of gardening are often discounted because people don’t think of it as “real” exercise. But, gardening offers the same benefits as other forms of exercise do. Did you know that you can burn as many calories in 45 minutes of gardening as you can in 30 minutes of aerobics? And depending on the task that you are doing, you are using many different muscle groups, and increasing your flexibility and strength.

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Working in the garden reduces stress. Connecting with nature, digging in the dirt, even weeding is one of the best stress reducers I have found. When I first started gardening, I dreaded the thought of weeding by hand. I thought it was an unnecessary and unpleasant part of gardening. As the years have gone by, I have found that weeding is the one thing that lets me totally unwind and makes me forget about everything else. I am so intent on getting those weeds out of my garden that I become intensely focused on it.

This brings me to another gardening benefit, it allows me to unplug and forces me to slow down the pace of my life. We are all so plugged in and connected that working in the garden is the one way that I can get away from the constant barrage of information being connected brings with it.

You, Unplugged

One of the most surprising things that gardening has done for me is to teach me how to have more patience. Think about it. You can’t rush nature. If you sow seeds, or plant seedlings, you can’t make them grow faster than they are able to grow just because you are limited on time or by pressuring them to grow faster. They grow at the pace they are supposed to grow at, no faster or slower.

Gardening also releases our creativity, often without us even realizing it. Planning the garden for the year or the season, choosing flower colors and plant palettes, and arranging the fresh flowers from your garden all require you to use your creative side.

With spring exactly a month away (it officially starts on March 20), as a gardener and food advocate, my thoughts are naturally turning to food and getting my garden ready for spring. I am not unusual in this regard. The beginning of spring has long been associated with food. In fact, it was celebrated by ancient cultures because they knew that it signaled a return of their food supply.

So, if you are thinking about growing your own food and wonder where to start, here are some simple, yet important things you can do to get your garden ready.

Before you plant, and regardless of whether you live in sunny So Cal like I do, or a colder climate, the first and possibly most important spring garden task is clean-up, because how well you clean up the garden now determines the kind of garden you will have throughout the spring and summer.

You may wonder if there’s a good reason to clean up other than aesthetics. The answer is yes, because keeping the garden clean is key to reducing insect and disease problems for the season.

Ensure a thorough job by cleaning up perennial beds and borders, cut down dead flowers, dig up and remove diseased plants, and clean up any leaves and stems. If you have an edible garden and/or fruit trees, clean up any fruit that has fallen. Any debris left in the garden over winter can cause diseases to enter the soil and appear in the spring.

After you clean up, and before you plant, it’s time to amend (or feed) the soil. Healthy soil makes healthy plants and lots of flowers and fruit.  To make soil amendment easier, till the soil to loosen it up. It also helps you get the weeds and weed seeds out now so that later it will be easier to keep the soil bed weed-free.

Tilling the soil also helps it dry out and warm up quicker in the spring. This will let you take advantage of early spring and plant cool season crops.

Once the soil is tilled, make sure you feed it with lots of compost so plant roots will grow well and top it off with a good layer of mulch.

You should also clean up your gardening tools and have your shears, pruners, and mowers sharpened so your tools will be ready with the first burst of spring.

8. Bush Zucchini. This squash won’t take up as much garden space as many other types, and it’s very prolific. Start from seeds or transplants. You won’t need more than a few plants for a bumper crop. Learn to make dried zucchini chips for snacking or rehydrating in soups and stews.

9. Tomatoes. There’s just no substitute for a perfectly ripe homegrown tomato, and it’s hard to go wrong when you start with strong plants (look for thick stems and healthy leaves). If you get a big crop, consider canning or freezing. Read a guide to growing amazing tomatoes.

10. Basil. Many herbs are easy to grow, but basil is among the easiest. It complements tomatoes in both the garden and the kitchen and grows well from seeds or transplants. Learn about nine other easy-to-grow kitchen herbs.