Question for 6/16/2018... Why so many people don't garden...

[daylilydude]

What do you think are some of the reasons people just don't garden?

[octave1]

Everybody tells me it is too much work.

[Deleted]

Getting dirty, hard work and it is outside!!

Many have a disconnect, a lack of knowledge, on how to grow food, or flowers.

[pepperhead212]

Some people are lazy, and really don't care what they're eating.

[brownrexx]

They think that they can buy produce cheaper and have more time for themselves (to play with their smartphones probably).

I agree with pepperhead212, that they are lazy.

[mgulfcoastguy]

Hoas, living in apartments, and it's work. But the biggest reason is that their parents didn't lead by example.

[paulf]

Lazy or unable or no place nearby.

[ladymarmalade]

Mostly that it's too much work, but I also think a lack of knowledge is huge.

[meandtk]

They have no idea of how rewarding it is to garden.

[pondgardener]

Probably for the same reason some people like to work on cars, golf or do crafts. They may have experienced doing many things but after awhile tend to gravitate toward what interests them most and they enjoy doing. And depending on how much research they do before attempting gardening may determine how successful they can be. Like in sports, there are not a lot of natural athletes, but there are many people that can be successful with a certain amount of effort and determination.

[september]

Lack of knowledge, but most just have no interest in working with nature to produce their own, when it's so easy and fast to buy at the store.

[spike]

Most of the people that I know that don't garden is because 1. The are elderly and not capable of work. or 2. They are to busy doing other stuff and don't have time.

But in our little area, there are Amish farms selling fresh produce, meats etc, so if you don't have the time or ability, you still can eat fresh.

#blessed

[brownrexx]

Another reason is because you can't grow Doritos or mac and cheese.

I know several families that almost never eat veggies with dinner or maybe they will eat a salad and consider that they ate a veggie.

[paquebot]

They don't garden because there is no need for it. Our city is now pushing 35,000. There are 3 major supermarkets plus Aldi and WalMart. Farmers markets at least 3 days a week. Many think that they want to garden so they spend $35 to rent 432 square feet in a community garden. Then $50 for seed and plants. More to keep away bugs and pathogens. Rabbits and deer come for their share and $100 for fencing. Then non-gardeners can't figure out why there is a 25% turnover every year.

Martin





The truth is more important than the facts.

[Laura_in_FL]

Like Martin said, very few people need to garden any more.

Gardening is hard work, and I am sure that laziness plays a big role for some folks - certainly the grocery store and the drive-through are a lot easier. But on the other hand, I know plenty of people who work really hard - physical labor, not just desk work. They are not lazy. The ones who are interested in gardening make the time to do so; the ones who aren't spent their free time for other hobbies or pursuits.

I do think the fact that fewer people grow up on or around farms or vegetable gardens also plays a big role. Gardening is viewed by many people as old-fashioned and weird (not to mention it's often hot and dirty work). They weren't taught a love of seed and soil, the beauty of nature, or a sense of joy from successfully nurturing plants during their formative childhood years. Some of them don't even understand where their food comes from!

Even if they're interested in gardening, they may have no idea how to start and tend a garden. They missed out on all the myriad bits of wisdom they would have gotten over the years from working in the garden while growing up. Many wanna-be gardeners don't have family or friends with gardening experience to turn to for help, either. I bet a lot of people try but fail and give it up as a bad job.

If you come into gardening clueless like that, unless you quickly develop a love of plants or are devoted to the idea of growing your own food, it's hard to stick with it long enough to get past the know-nothing stage and learn how to grow successfully.

[paquebot]

And, what Laura said was 100% spot on. There's no need for gardening anymore. Only a small percentage of the population even have ground to grow anything in. Unless you are of my age and have a subsistence farming background, I've gardened all of my life so it's not something I've had to learn. Too many wannabes have the idea that they just need to clear off some sod and plant seeds and come back later and reap a big harvest. If only it worked that way! I spent years ridding my garden of purslane. Why is it all over it this year? One plant must have escaped my hoe last year. Community garden looks great until the first rain. Then it turns green with foxtail grass. That's followed by mustard, lambs quarters, pigweed, velvetweed, and purslane. New gardeners expect the Garden of Eden and instead find the devil's delight.

A true story. Back in the 1970s, a friend had some land and rented out plots. There were several young people who spent a week planting just about everything in early May. Then they vanished until August and came back looking for a huge harvest. Instead, they found a neatly-mowed "lawn" where their plot had been.

Martin





The truth is more important than the facts.

[ladymarmalade]

Jun 17, 2018 11:52:08 GMT -5 paquebot said:

A Too many wannabes have the idea that they just need to clear off some sod and plant seeds and come back later and reap a big harvest. If only it worked that way! I spent years ridding my garden of purslane. Why is it all over it this year? One plant must have escaped my hoe last year. Community garden looks great until the first rain. Then it turns green with foxtail grass. That's followed by mustard, lambs quarters, pigweed, velvetweed, and purslane. New gardeners expect the Garden of Eden and instead find the devil's delight.

A true story. Back in the 1970s, a friend had some land and rented out plots. There were several young people who spent a week planting just about everything in early May. Then they vanished until August and came back looking for a huge harvest. Instead, they found a neatly-mowed "lawn" where their plot had been.

Martin

The number one reason for turnover at our community garden is the weeds.

This year our village added a second community garden site at a park on the other side of town. A few gardeners switched to that site because it's closer to their homes, but I overheard my neighbor saying that he was switching to the other garden because it was new- he thought there should be less weeds to deal with.

[Deleted]

Weeds are the original equal opportunity plant, LOL. Or maybe the original "me, me, me" critter.

There are many little things, such as knowing the smell of good healthy earth, that if you do not grow up in a culture that values growing your own food or flowers, it can be lost easily. Age has sure slowed me down, too. And results can be slow, not tomorrow, and many in this hurry and run faster world do not know the quiet moments of tucking a plant into a small hole, smelling the change when you add water to the dirt, or just sit for a few moments in the quiet.

[hairymooseknuckles]

Gardening is a labor of love. If you don't love it, you won't do it for very long.

[Deleted]

Food itself is easy to buy, where many times, even into the 1950's, food sources were less available, and much more seasonal. So, growing some of your own food has fallen out of fashion, plus, it's so easy to go up and down aisles in the heated or air conditioned market than to do the work of gardening. And, a big and, if one does know the taste of a tree ripened apricot or a vine ripened tomato, or a field ripened melon, there isn't any understanding of the ows and whys of flavors and the value one may put on those differences.

It's like if you never had really good make you swat your mamma ice cream, you wouldn't KNOW, so therefore, you wouldn't miss it enough to make it.

Used to be, people grew gardens and canned to have more foods readily available. Life was also a bit slower, I think, so time was not so booked up. It does take time to garden, it does take effort, it is work at times, so if one doesn't buy into the pay off for all that, they dont care and they won't do it.

[brownrexx]

Some very good points have been made about how easy and even cheap it is to buy food and I agree. However I constantly hear on TV how Americans should eat more fruits and vegetables so I think that many people are probably not buying the things that we are growing or there would not be such an obesity epidemic or health crisis where doctors are telling their patients to "eat healthy"

I don't mind the work because I value knowing where my food comes from and what it is NOT sprayed with. Of course home grown veggies TASTE better and are usually more nutritious because they are fresher but I mostly like knowing how they are grown, harvested and stored.

It gives me a tremendous sense of satisfaction to feed my family good, CLEAN, nutritious food as much as possible and I don't mind pulling a few weeds to do that.

[spike]

There is so much more to this question. I was born with a hoe in one hand and a rock in the other to sharpen the blade of the hoe. Who knew you could buy canned veggies etc in a store. You grew it, you butchered it you canned it and you baked it. I want my table spread with things I started from seeds and worked with my own hands. But for me it is a way of life AND something I totally enjoy. My son is all "Dude, grocery store duh."

Everyone has different interests, mine just involves dirt!

[carolyn]

I agree with Spike.... there is so much to this question. but in all seriousness... our food supply is so cheap that people take it for granted. our farmers are literally going bankrupt trying to feed this country and people don't see it. if everyone was required to actually grow a crop from seed to harvest for a profit they would have a different perspective of food and food waste. Since I have started growing to sell at farmers markets I think about how much space and how many plants and how long it took to grow what is in the produce dept of whatever store I am in... it is overwhelming to me to think about it in that perspective... and that is one of thousands of grocery stores in our country alone. gardening is hard work and there is no guaranteed outcome. unfortunately many people don't grow a garden because their parents didn't grow one and they are very ill prepared to garden. it really isn't a cheap investment if you need a tractor, tiller, rototiller, hand tools etc.. and then the seeds and plants, soil amendments, fertilizers, hoses and wands or sprinklers... and some place to store it all when its not in use... there! is another part of gardening in todays culture.. people don't want to have stuff. anything extra. they want no heirlooms or handmedown tools... so they have nothing to start/work with. they stay busy filling their time with other things too. gardening is a commitment.