Why Put up a Home Garden Especially During the Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic
Why Put up a Home Garden Especially During the Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic
Ever think of putting up a home garden in your backyard? If so, now may be the best time for you to really go for it.
The COVID-19 pandemic has already affected people’s lives and their way of living. Some countries have been locked down, some areas have been put under community quarantine, and people are being extra cautious these days upon going out of their homes.
These are not just the changes brought about by the pandemic but these are also a few of the many reasons why the more we all should consider making our own home garden.
Importance of Having a Home Garden During the Pandemic
It Lets You Grow Your Food and Eat Healthy
Couldn’t you go out of your home because of quarantine or community quarantine? Or would you rather stay at home and stay safe than to go out to the market to buy food? Then have your own home garden and grow your own food. During the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, your home garden may serve as a sustainable source of food for you and your family.
A home garden doesn’t only provide food but rather “healthy food.” Few of the many health benefits of growing your own food, as stated by Executive Editor of Harvard Health Letter on their Backyard Gardening Harvard Health Blog, are:
- It helps you eat more fresh fruits and vegetables
- You get to decide what kinds of fertilizers and pesticides come in contact with your food
- Also, it lets you control when to harvest your food. According to the Harvard Health Blog, vegetables that ripen in the garden have more nutrients than some store-bought vegetables that must be picked early
Gardening can be Family Activity
One person may be able to put up and take care of a home garden on his own, but it can also be a good family activity especially since the pandemic has driven some people all over the globe work or study at home.
According to the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, growing a vegetable garden may be a way for adults and children to cope with boredom and help families gain a sense of security.
In addition, as published in their newsroom, the Rutgers has stated that hands-on activities like gardening can encourage children to participate in a way that will enhance learning.
It is also said there that skills such as measurements, addition, subtraction, counting, sorting into categories and colors can be reinforced to young, preschool- and elementary-aged children through gardening activity.
Growing a Garden is Stress-Relieving
One of the intangible benefits you can get from having and growing your own vegetable garden is a better quality of life. This is because gardening is stress-relieving and could be a form of exercise.
Moreover, sampling the fruits of your labor, your fresh harvests, could also give you taste pleasure. A visual pleasure, on the other hand, may also be provided by a well-maintained garden.
According to an article published within the University of Vermont Extension Department of Plant and Soil Science, in a chaotic world where you may not have much control over events, a garden and landscape can provide you that sense of order.
Bonus: You can Win on a Home Garden Contest
Another bright side of having a home garden during this ongoing pandemic, aside from it can provide you with a source of food, is that it may also lead you to win a contest.
You’ve read it right! For those who already have an existing home garden, the Environmental Management Bureau Cordillera Administrative Region (EMB CAR) has recently announced a contest which you may want to join in. They call it the “Search for Sustainable and Eco Friendly Home Garden.”
Search for Sustainable and Eco Friendly Home Garden
Are you interested of joining the EMB CAR Search for Sustainable and Eco Friendly Home Garden Contest? If so, do know that the contest is open to all interested individuals or family residing within the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). However, based on the EMB CAR’s contest guidelines, employees of DENR, EMB, WWRRDC and MGB are automatically disqualified from joining the competition.
If you or your family is within the region and has home garden you would like to enter the contest, read on for the complete mechanics, criteria, and of course, list prizes. The complete guidelines have been published by the official EMB CAR Facebook Page (EMB Cordillera Region) on Tuesday, May 26, 2020.
Contest Guidelines
Contest Mechanics
1. The home garden should have utilized recyclable materials as their pots.
2. Must produce significant harvest to augment (vegetable) food of the family. Therefore crops must be sustainable in a sense that recyclable materials were not used only once.
3. Coverage area- Cordillera Administrative Region Only
4. Send your entries by posting your photos with a caption detailing or describing your entry in the comment section of this post. At least 1-2 paragraph or 500 words.
5. Only 1 picture per entry, so make it your best picture.
6. For queries call EMB CAR through 09073871291/446 6440 for more details
Screening of Entries
A Board of Judges for the competition will be organized, whose decision shall be final and un-appealable.
Criteria for Judging
- The following are the criteria for judging to determine the winning.
a. Creativity in the use of recycled materials as planting device – 50%
b. Sustainability – 25 %
c. Innovation – 25 %
Total: 100
Contest Prizes
- Champion Php 20, 000
- First Runner-Up Php 15, 000
- Second Runner-Up Php 10, 000
- Third Runner-Up Php 5, 000
- 10 Consolation Prizes Php 2,000 each and Starter Kits like Black Soil Fertilizer, Pots, Handheld Shovel etc.
Submission of Entries
You may drop your entries at the comment section of the EMB Cordillera Region Search for Sustainable and Eco Friendly Home Garden Facebook post. You may visit their official Facebook page and look for their post about the contest on May 26, 2020 or you may simply click here to see the post.
Deadline of Entries
June 4, 2020 (11:59 PM)
For Contest Inquiries
For further concerns, you may call 446 6440/ 665 2904 or email [email protected]
For more News and Updates
Looking for more news, updates, or even inspiring stories? Feel free to explore our Baguio City Guide website. Also, like and follow our official Baguio City Guide Facebook page for more of our content about Baguio City and Beyond.
SOURCES
Live Grow Garden
Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station
University of Vermont Extension Department of Plant and Soil Science
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