#2013alive: How Does Your Garden Grow?

This week for our 12 Months of Wellness, we’re getting our green thumbs dirty—even if our green thumbs aren’t necessarily all that green. Here’s what some of alive’s staff have to say about their own gardening endeavours: 

Bronwyn Logan, Marketing Specialist:  “I have pretty much the furthest thing from a green thumb! I have successfully killed all plants that live in my house and yard, even a cactus that was given to me as a ‘non-killable’ plant idea … But I proved that one wrong yet again.

“This failure as a gardener used to upset me, but I have finally found my niche. I can grow herbs like no-one else in my neighbourhood. I have lots of parsley, dill, rosemary, and mint growing without any issues. I think it’s also great as my fiancé does all the watering of the plants, so that helps me to not forget about them. Our neighbours enjoy it too, as they are welcome to take the fresh herbs for their cooking. There’s no way I can use it all up!”

Vince Yim, Digital Content Coordinator: “Since I live in an apartment, my gardening efforts are small-scale. I’ve experimented with growing various vegetables, including tomatoes and green onions (successfully replanting them means never having to buy them ever again), most of which died slow deaths. Despite all the neglect and minimal watering, my chili pepper plant has produced the most peppers, at the rate of about two or three per year (I planted it about three years ago). Given the yield that my plants have been producing, it gives me a better appreciation of what organic farmers have to go through to get food to us.” 

Leah Karpus, Editor: “Some of my fondest childhood memories were gardening with my great-grandmother. She had a huge garden that grew everything from potatoes to tall rows of sweet corn. My cousins and I were free to pick and eat cherry tomatoes, strawberries, and sugar snap peas whenever we wanted (we didn’t even to wash them first, which I thought was really cool!).

“Today, I have a few garden boxes and containers. There’s something so special about preparing and eating a meal with veggies you grew and cared for. Although my ‘garden’ is admittedly not as impressive as my great-grandmother’s, tending to it always reminds me of the fun we had together when I was little."

Get Growing!

How have the beans been? How are the tomatoes turning out? Join the conversation on Twitter by using the #2013alive hashtag, or leave a comment on our Facebook page. And don’t forget to download our June goal sheet to keep track of your progress!