Healthy Garden, Healthy You Toolkit

Reading a Seed Packet PDF
This University of Maryland Extension resource shows how to read the front and back of a seed packet for two different vegetables. It includes detailed notes on where to find information on requirements, planting instructions, and how long vegetables take to grow among other helpful information.

Growing Healthy Futures
This series of videos by Rainbow Community Development Center (RCDC) Montgomery County Master Gardeners provides step-by-step instructions on planting seeds, harvesting leafy greens, cilantro, and radishes, and how to maintain your container garden.

How to Start a Vegetable Garden
Learn more about the 6 basic steps to start your own vegetable garden including how to plan, choose a site, prepare soil, plant, maintain your garden, and harvest from the University of Maryland Extension.

Starting a Vegetable Garden (Video)
Learn about how to plan and prepare for your garden and how to successfully plant and produce your vegetables from this video by the University of Maryland Extension Baltimore County.

Growing Vegetables in Containers
Learn more about how you can grow vegetables from a container garden from the University of Maryland Extension. This article focuses on the location of the container garden and what you can grow in the garden.

Baltimore City Master Gardener Container Vegetable Gardening PresentationLearn about how to successfully start your own container vegetable garden and about the advantages, requirements, maintenance, and soil options.

University of Maryland Extension Baltimore City Office
This University of Maryland Extension Baltimore City resource provides information on classes, events, and Master Gardener programs among other important resources.

Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks City Farms
This Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks website provides information on local garden beds that can be rented. This program provides a way to be mentored and learn more about gardening.

Baltimore City Department of Public Works Baltimore GROW Centers
This resource provides more information on the Baltimore GROW Centers such as their mission and how to get involved with this program.

DPW Launches Food Waste Drop-off Pilot Program
This Baltimore City Department of Public Works website provides information on the food scrap collection program for composting and discusses the importance of the program to the community.

Baltimore Compost Collective
Learn about how you can be involved in this Baltimore Compost Collective program. This resource discusses their mission and how you can become involved in the program.

How to Garden with Ranger George
This video will show you how to maintain and water your vegetables with the help of Ranger George from Parks and Recreation, Prince George’s County.

University of Maryland Extension Prince George’s County Office
This University of Maryland Extension Prince George’s County resource provides information on classes, events, and Master Gardener programs among other important resources.

Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation Community Garden Plots
This resource provides more information on community garden plots in Prince George’s County, including how you can find these community gardens and how you can be involved.

Curbside Organics Collection
Learn more about composting and food scraps collection at Prince George’s County including why this is important, how you can be involved, and what the organics composting facility does.

Healthy Gardens, Healthy You Factsheet (PDF)
Download this printable infographic on the positive impacts of gardening on mental health.

Why gardening is good for your mental health
This video by Johnsons of Wixley, a large European commercial nursery business, focuses on the potential mental health benefits from gardening.

Plants, the microbiome, and mental health
This video by Christopher A. Lowry from TEDXMileHigh focuses on important species of bacteria and microorganisms in different types of vegetables and how consuming a range of these vegetables and increased exposure to nature can improve mental health in addition to providing benefits to physical health.

Mayo Clinic Minute: Benefits of tending a garden
This video by Mayo Clinic Minute discusses the benefits of gardening such as lowering stress levels and increasing physical activity as well as a few examples of what vegetables you can grow in your vegetable garden.

Plants: Partners in Health- Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and You
This story from NIH News in Health explains the health benefits related to eating more fruits and vegetables and starting your own garden for gardeners of all ages.

Better Nutrition Every Day- How to choose healthier foods and drinks
Learn more about the importance of including healthier food options in your daily diet for families and individuals of all ages from this story in NIH News in Health. Access to a local garden is one way to provide easier access to healthy foods providing an improvement in the nutritional value of food consumed.

Home gardening and urban agriculture for advancing food and nutritional security in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
This research paper focuses on the topic of food insecurity and the need for “more resilient food systems” and stronger “local food production” and home gardens can be a major factor in improving these elements (Lal, 2020)

Gardening for Health: a Regular Dose of Gardening
This research paper focuses on the benefits of gardening on mental and physical health and the importance of local officials providing more open space for gardening which also provides positive benefits for the natural environment (Thompson, 2018).

Emotional Well-Being While Home Gardening Similar To Other Popular Activities Study Finds 
This fact sheet focuses on the positive effects of gardening on “people’s emotional well-being” and “providing food security in urban areas and making cities more sustainable and livable”. 

Why Garden- Attitudes and Perceived Health Benefits of Home Gardening
This research paper focuses on a group of individuals who garden in the UK, why they garden, their motivations to garden, and the overall benefits they experienced related to gardening on their physical and mental health depending on how much time they spent in the garden (Chalmin-Pui et al., 2021). This resource provides excellent input as to why the addition of home gardens is a positive addition 

Gardening is Beneficial for Health
This research paper focuses on the positive effects of gardening and “horticultural therapy” such as an increase in “quality of life” and a decrease in mental health concerns such as depression through this research (Soga et al., 2016).