Do we have a thread on the effects of corona virus on gardening?

[Jimmy]

It would be interesting to hear peoples thoughts.
For me
1) Ordered seeds online and not visiting garden centre.
2) Ordered my 12 grow bags to be delivered.
3) No visits to the pub, wife has stockpiled enough booze to sink a battleship.

I assume growing your own must be a benifit as you don't need to go out for veg.

We don't have the virus and don't intend going out.

Jimmy

[burnie]

We do now...………………………….

[burnie]

As there are no reported cases yet in our area, we have today been to the farmers market(where hand washing and sterilising equipment was on hand and being used), we then went to Tescos(where no facilities were available) bought what we needed for the coming week and then came home and washed our hands again.

[penelype]

It would be interesting to hear peoples thoughts.
For me
1) Ordered seeds online and not visiting garden centre.
2) Ordered my 12 grow bags to be delivered.
3) No visits to the pub, wife has stockpiled enough booze to sink a battleship.

I assume growing your own must be a benifit as you don't need to go out for veg.

We don't have the virus and don't intend going out.

Jimmy

(Penellype here) The thing that worries me most from a gardening perspective is that if I am required to self isolate I will not be able to walk to my allotment. You are in fact supposed to stay indoors, so gardening would be off the menu completely.

There are of course much more important things than gardening. My biggest concern is for my 84 year old Mum, who is active and generally well, but has been on heart medication for years. Most people will have similarly vulnerable relatives and it is them whom we must be most careful with.

[Chestnut]

I work in NHS, so am expecting work will be super-busy over the coming months. I’m not expecting to get to the plot at all
Am planning to get spuds in this weekend , and leave them to their own devices.

Does anyone have any other ideas as to what I can do in next week or two, then neglect entirely for the next 3-4 months ?

[veggiechicken]

(Penellype here) The thing that worries me most from a gardening perspective is that if I am required to self isolate I will not be able to walk to my allotment. You are in fact supposed to stay indoors, so gardening would be off the menu completely.

There are of course much more important things than gardening. My biggest concern is for my 84 year old Mum, who is active and generally well, but has been on heart medication for years. Most people will have similarly vulnerable relatives and it is them whom we must be most careful with.

The GOV advice is that its fine to use your garden but to stay 2m away from other people. I appreciate that allotments are different.
https://www.gov.uk/government/public...d-19-infection

My Mum is my concern too. Stay safe everyone.

[elleme]

Before this, I wasn't going to grow much this year due to another hobby which leads to me being away lots of summer weekends. I gave up on my allotment a year or so ago and have a small garden. I've now had a change of plan. Chances are most of those weekends away will get cancelled. I will grow more than I did last year, space permitting.

I have a dad in his late 80s who is physically frail and lives in warden assisted accommodation in another town. If anyone gets it they will all be extremely vulnerable.

[veggiechicken]

I work in NHS, so am expecting work will be super-busy over the coming months. I’m not expecting to get to the plot at all
Am planning to get spuds in this weekend , and leave them to their own devices.

Does anyone have any other ideas as to what I can do in next week or two, then neglect entirely for the next 3-4 months ?

Onion sets, garlic, broad beans, sow anything you can (carrots, leeks, kale, peas and don't worry about weeds. Bung 'em in and hope for the best.

[Urban]

If you are generally fit and healthy its probably best to actually get the virus, and at least get some immunity from it, to give us herd immunity at least 60% of us have to contract it, the scientist think its with us for good now and, and will keep coming back every year, they are just hoping its not like the flu and mutates every year, its vital to keep it away from the very elderly and otherwise compromised people though

[Snoop Puss]

I've got seeds on their way to the post office. Could be in mid-air, on their way back to the UK for all I know.

[burnie]

If you are generally fit and healthy its probably best to actually get the virus, and at least get some immunity from it, to give us herd immunity at least 60% of us have to contract it, the scientist think its with us for good now and, and will keep coming back every year, they are just hoping its not like the flu and mutates every year, its vital to keep it away from the very elderly and otherwise compromised people though

I read yesterday that it is a myth to think you would get much in the way of any immunity from catching the disease. When the bird flu was around a few years back, a medical professional told me that I would have some immunity because I lived during the Asian flu epidemic in the 50's or 60's when ever it was. Seems you don't have to actually catch a virus in order to gain some kind of immunity.

[self-contained]

I'm also front line NHS, and agree that emergency measures/workload are likely to have a significant impact on the time I have to tend to my plants. However, my gardening is good for my emotional well-being, so I'm not altering/reducing any of my plans just yet (though admittedly they weren't particularly ambitious given I'll be moving house in August/September). I'm expecting that the mental burden of working through a pandemic is going to be high, and I'm going to need to hold on tight to anything that feeds my emotional health.

It's very likely that I will catch it through work, regardless of personal protective equipment and good hand-washing, and will need to self isolate for a while. I have plenty of store cupboard food, but it will be nice to be able to have some fresh homegrown stuff too. I will probably increase my microgreen/shoots production, as the worst of the virus impact may well be before outside things really have a chance to get going. I've been looking on Premier Seeds as they offer large packets of microgreen and sprouting seeds.

My 90 year old Grandma's garden plans are likely to have to change. She has maintained an amazing garden (mostly ornamental, but with a vegetable patch at the back and lots of fruit trees) at her house for the past 50 years, but in the past few years has relied on my parents visiting two or three times a month (or more) to do the bulk of the work under her direction. If my parents can't visit for a while (to keep her safe), then my Grandma can only really grow things that need no real attention. She does her grocery shopping online (no cognitive problems there!) but I am concerned that Tesco delivery services are going to get overwhelmed, so my parents have stocked her up with extra food just in case.

There's some hope that the virus may fade away in the northern hemisphere once the weather gets a bit warmer (potentially to return every winter, as Urban says), so people may want to continue to plan for a normal summer in the garden/allotment and not put off sowing seeds etc.

[Logunner]

I despair.....

[veggiechicken]

I despair.....

Why???............................

[Chestnut]

Onion sets, garlic, broad beans, sow anything you can (carrots, leeks, kale, peas and don't worry about weeds. Bung 'em in and hope for the best.

Sounds like a good plan. Might also aim for a few salad bits in the garden and home GH - as Selfcontained reminded me, I’m sure a few mins pottering about watering at the end of each day will be worth its weight in gold ;-)