Spring and summer seasons are the perfect time to be outdoors. One of the best outdoor activities that older adults in retirement living near you can do is building a garden. It’s a fun and purposeful endeavor that holds a lot of rewards and benefits.
Successful Gardening for Retirement Communities in Ontario
Are you part of the gardening club in your retirement community? Or have you started gardening this spring? There are plenty of techniques that can enhance your gardening experience and set you up for success. Here are some of them:
- Get the right gardening tools. For instance, lightweight tools with rubber handles reduce stress on your joints.
- Choose the right plants. This can be according to what you know you can handle and the growing conditions in your location.
- Start with great soil. Nutrient-rich and well-drained soil will allow your plants to flourish.
- Use rainwater to water your plants.
Benefits of Rainwater for Your Garden
Spring and summer in Ontario are usually a mixture of wet and warm weather. Senior retirement living residents who love gardening should take advantage of this!
Rainwater has a lot of benefits for your plants. It has elements that regular tap water cannot provide.
- It doesn’t contain salts and minerals, making it the cleanest type of water.
- It contains the right pH level perfect for most, if not all, your plants.
- It has nitrates and oxygen to help plants grow and stay healthy.
- It’s free!
Collecting Rainwater in Senior Retirement Living Residences
Having a steady supply of rainwater can be a challenge since it doesn’t rain daily in Ontario. Instead of waiting for the next rainfall, why not try collecting rainwater?
The most common way to collect rainwater is through a tank or rain barrel. The easiest way this happens is through your gutter system. Install downspouts to lead the water into barrels set up underneath.
Another, more simple way is by setting up rain barrels in various parts of your garden. These can easily collect rainwater, albeit not as much as that from your gutters. You can have more than one around your garden to maximize your water collection.
When collecting rainwater, it’s important to use barrels with a screen cover. This ensures no leaves and other debris can get into the barrel. Also, you can fit a spout at the bottom of the barrel. This makes it easier to use the rainwater for gardening.
Also, rainwater doesn’t keep well when not stored properly. Make sure to cover your rain barrels after collection. Keep it out of light, animal, and insect contact.
Planning to Transition to Retirement Living Near You?
Livita Retirement Residences is a retirement community in Ontario that supports our residents in their passions and interests. Love gardening? We have various gardening clubs that you can be a part of when you join our community.
Live a vibrant, meaningful life in the company of like-minded people. Get to know more about our community, our facilities, services, and programs today! Feel free to give us a call for your queries.
