Gardening 101: A Teen-to-Teen Guide To Naturalistic Intelligence by Malai Harrington
As the summer months approach us, a wave of possible activities and hobbies to explore follows. Especially now that the usual mass of school work and responsibilities has vastly decreased, we have the time to seek knowledge and excitement. Although, I have one question for you: does learning the ins and outs of gardening happen to be on your bucket list? As young environmentalists, we are continuously diving deeper into the aspects of environmentalism regarding activism and education. However, increasing our naturalistic intelligences is an enormous difference between practices of environmental advocacy and truly embracing what it means to be an individual who is able to apply knowledge of the environment and, as it relates, nature.
To begin, naturalistic intelligence is considered a new form of intelligence that pertains to the analysis of how nature operates, an appreciation for the environment, exploration of various species, and an interest in science-based careers. Today, we will magnify the analysis of just how nature operates with an emphasis on gardening!
You have the luxury of choosing what you would like to plant: vegetables, fruits, or plants. Nevertheless, it is important to consider what kind of vegetable or fruit you would like to plant in order to optimize harvest. If you are aiming to start in the very near future, I suggest a vegetable or fruit that is considered to be a warm-season vegetable (e.g. blueberries, cantaloupe, lingonberries, watermelon, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, and pumpkins). If plants are the route you would like to take, I advise Pothos, Snake, Peace Lily, or Spider plants, which are all relatively inexpensive to purchase and even cheaper to grow!
For houseplants especially, I offer you a few tips to maximize growth.
- Purchase a pot with holes on the bottom.
- Invest in a moisture meter if you are prone to overwatering and/or forgetting to consistently care for your plants.
- Invest in a saucer that can sit under your pot and catch any water that soaks through. Every once in a while (approximately once a month), allow water to drain through the holes of your pot into a sink to prevent the roots from becoming too moist.
- Remove brown leaves.
As a closing remark, gardening can be yet another mesmerizing avenue for positively contributing to the earth. Moreover, naturalistic intelligence has the ability to illustrate itself in the form of a hobby, or in-depth interest, that allows us to grow psychologically while also doing what we do best as young and bright-minded individuals: care for the environment.
