By Pat Huber, UC Master Gardeners of Placer County
Q: Besides dreaming through seed and bulb catalogs, what should I be doing now in the garden?
A: The heavy “To-Do” list gardeners carry in summer and fall, followed by busy holiday schedules, leaves us looking forward to the rest and quiet time winter provides (with mixed emotions). Yet, as we hit mid-winter, those sunny crisp days give rise to our renewed enthusiasm for gardening at all levels. Although January and February are the perfect months for gardeners to curl up in a cozy spot with some good seed catalogs, planning guides, and visions of the beauty and bounty the warmer days will bring, there is more to do right now. Don’t get too comfortable. The most important mid-winter action item is tending to YOU!
We feel a little stiff and our minds might be moving faster than our bodies. So it is time to put down the reading material, reset your schedule, and do some exercise. Get ready with bends and twists, and working the legs and mid-body not only gets sleeping muscles going again, it benefits overall health. Do what is comfortable, but we need to push ourselves beyond “easy”. And, young gardeners, don’t fool yourself, you too may need a little body wake-up to prepare for the gardening that lies ahead.
Let’s all consider the holes we need to dig, compost piles to turn, plant containers to move, and all the weeds we will be pulling. I’d like not to mention the weeds, but, in spite of almost no rains this year, I can already see them poking their heads above ground just about everywhere. For all these tasks, we need to ready our bodies and work on strength exercises. Consider free weights, curls and lifts; and if you don’t have dumbbells, use water bottles or other substitutes around the house. There are lots of indoor exercises that use chairs or the wall to strengthen the muscles we’ll be calling on shortly to help us do what we love to do….play in the garden.
So, here is the thought for today: remember to prepare and care for your body as well as you prepare and care for your garden!