Summer Seedlings

Summer Garden

Emily Motta, Staff Writer

As the school year comes to an end and summer is just around the corner, many are wondering what can be done during the second socially distanced summer break. If you want to feel rewarded while working on your mental health, why not build a summer garden?

Summer is a great time to create a garden full of fresh fruits and vegetables, and its benefits aren’t just physical, but also mental. Gardening is very beneficial to your mental health, and after the year we had this may just be the perfect thing to help. Gardening will “[help] provide relief from acute stress and negative mood,” Tonya Russell from Everyday Health said. Stress can be apparent even during summers. For those who have jobs, college applications, or just stressful lives, this may be a ticket to peace. 

Not only does gardening help relieve stress, but just being outdoors has its benefits. Being in the sun can improve sleep, reduce stress, strengthen your immune system, fight depression, and promote a happier and longer life. Gardening requires being outside so you’ll be sure to get your share of sunshine. 

Most of the Gunderson community lives in the Santa Clara County area, and luckily for us, our soil and climate allow for growing in all seasons. However, certain fruits and vegetables are best grown in certain seasons. From April to September, asparagus, beans, cantaloupe, chayote, chiles, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, honeydew, Melons, okra, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, summer squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, watermelon, winter squash, and zucchini are the best to be grown. When to plant the produce depends on the individual but can be found on the linked chart. To create a summer garden there are some steps.

It is very rewarding to see how your work turned out, so don’t be discouraged by small inconveniences!