Is Santa a Gardener?
If your partner has little hope for perfect fingernails and often has leaves caught in their hair, this is for you. The holidays are coming fast. Gift expectations are always high. A true surprise created by deliberate consideration will elevate you to the cape-wearing status of a super-hero!
There are different levels of gifts; for example, take a garden cart, a wheelbarrow and a manure cart. A plastic garden cart has severe weight limitations. The wheelbarrow has the ability to move heavy items but may be difficult to maneuver in tight quarters or freshly tilled soil. A cowgirl’s manure cart is tough and well balanced. Manure is wet and heavy, and a cowgirl only wants to load it once (not a second time if the load shifts). Your local farm store will give you a spin with one and your gardener will love using it for years.
Many gardening efforts are done while bending over at the waist, praying on the ground while on your knees, or sitting on an overturned bucket. A sense of one’s center of gravity can prevent a garden disaster. Sitting on a sturdy, wide footstool can prevent a weed-pulling over-the-teakettle flight. On a balanced, solid two-step stool, a gardener can move their hands and maintain their balance while being close to the ground. A solid, plastic stool is easy to move along and clean with a hose.
Most gardeners have a large bucket with a company name printed on it. Although easy to spot hidden in green foliage, there are other choices with stronger handles and materials, built to survive blistering heat and freezing ice. These tough buckets, on any given day, may be used as pseudo soccer balls by a herd of ponies, for picking a peck of tomatoes or hauling weeds to the green can. They are strong enough to flip over and sit upon and are great filled with small gifts under the tree. To find these hero buckets, head to your local feed or country store.
Gardening is often pictured as a lovely lady in a large hat and flowing dress, wandering down rows of flowers. Gardeners know, in fact, that gardening is a physical, sweaty endeavor that requires its own seasonal attire. Heavy duty sweatshirts (like Carhartt) fit three of the four seasons, providing warmth, breathability, room to move and adaptability to changing temperatures. Easy to clean and durable, they may become part of your “always-grab” attire.
The best gift for any gardener is paid tuition to become a Master Gardener. Gardening knowledge, camaraderie, a library of resources, and the opportunity to give back to family, friends, and community make a lifetime gift. Local UCCE master gardening classes are taught annually, one year in Sonora and the next year in San Andreas. The Master Gardener Classes will be taught in Sonora starting in 2025. Online Applications are open and here is the link: https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=25510
The University of California organization and content combined to build a strong base for any gardener, providing knowledge to help your community grow.
Cape-wearing gift shopping makes both the giver and the getter happy to be digging—one digging in their pocket for payment and the other digging in the dirt. The best tools for your best gardener will make smiles last long after Santa flies into the night.
Julie Silva is a UCCE Master Gardener of Tuolumne County. UCCE Central Sierra Master Gardeners can answer home gardening questions, from rainwater tanks to drought-resistant plants.
