Gardening in a Pandemic

My garden has been a place of peace in the midst of a pandemic. My garden allows me to be still and process the chaos around me. Planting my emotions in the soil because I didn't know what to do with them. Gardening is my therapy. Please touch your heart in agreement if you ever felt like this.

Choosing between eating what I grow vs. what the grocery store has available was not an easy decision. There are limits to what I can grow, space availability and the time commitment primarily. The convenience of the grocery store is now marred with the fear of contracting Covid-19 or its variants.

Gardening in a pandemic became more than just a hobby, it’s now a lifebuoy. During Phase 1 of the pandemic, the average time spent in a grocery store was 75 - 90 mins (from parking to leaving). I’m panicking because the news says transfer time only needs 15 mins of exposure. I’m at-risk already, the lines were too long, and the quality was missing.

I decided to reach out to a few friends with large and sunny backyards and say “mind if I grow some collard greens, peppers, beans, potates and carrots back here”. Often met with, “my aunt had a garden…” then the words “sure, that’s fine”. In the midst of a pandemic I acquire a mix bag of backyard of approximately half an acre.

I put each yard on a schedule, asked owners to water in exchange for a share of the produce. It worked, I kept food on my plate, minimized my time in stores, and kept from feeling like I was drowning. Who knew, gardening in a pandemic could create a model for how food can be made available.

What would happen if you and a few friends, intentionally planned to use what you have to grow food? In Guyana, my home, it’s called Victory Gardens. Each backyard decides to grow something that the other needs and shares the harvest. Try it out, let me know what happens.

I think I have said enough for today.

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