It’s not just home gardens that are thriving during the coronavirus shut-down. The gardening business is doing well as many families have started new family traditions of home gardening during the pandemic.

“There’s definitely expanded interest in home gardening,” said Pamela Arnosky, owner of Arnosky Family Farms in Blanco. “I think World War II was the last time people began to cultivate their backyard gardens this much.”

Arnosky said they’ve sold out of many varieties of vegetables and flowers.

“People are spending more time at home, and having the color of living plants in their lives gives them a huge morale boost.”

Arnosky also is seeing many new customers.

“More families with children are coming to the Blue Barn to get garden plants, including herbs, and also to use the open spaces to run around,” she said. “Hopefully, these family gardens will result in more quality time spent together in the great outdoors.”

Although there are plenty of new gardeners, for others home gardens are just a continuation of days of old.

“My grandparents were farmers, and they always had a vegetable garden,” said Mamie Moraw, office manager for the Blanco County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. “Grandma canned everything she could out of that garden…sustenance for a big family.”

Moraw said her parents also cultivated vegetables and canned their own produce.

“I, too, have followed in the footsteps of these women. I enjoy canning tomatoes,” she said. “There’s nothing fresher than straight from the garden.”

For the past three years, Moraw and her husband have stayed busy watching over their tomatoes, potatoes, onions, four kinds of peppers, yellow squash, zucchini squash, okra, cucumbers and green beans.

“Since the pandemic began and everyone’s been staying at home, we’ve focused more time on our garden, and it’s thriving,” she said. “My husband has dug about 20 pounds of red potatoes so far, with many more to go. We’re harvesting squash daily and I’m cooking it every day.”

For the Moraws, gardening is a lifestyle.

“I think keeping your mind busy during a time like we are experiencing is healthy and therapeutic.”

The gardening business adapts

All those delicious veggies begin as seeds, many of which are supplied to Blanco folks by Arnosky Family Farms.

Like most businesses, the farm was affected by the shut-down but has adapted.

Back in March, when the “panic-buying” began, grocery store buyers contacted Arnosky to let her know that purchases of flowers and plants would be stopping; instead, the floor space was to be used for high-demand food and other supplies.

“We were assured that as soon as things settled down, Texas flowers and plants would be back in the stores,” Arnosky said.

In the meantime, they’ve been doing more than surviving; they’re thriving.

“We already were offering plants for sale at the Blue Barn, self-serve during the week, so we expanded the display there so folks could come out and get what they needed,” Arnosky said. “We were able to keep our Barn open because we are a farm, we have a farm market in the Blue Barn, and we could let people ‘social distance’ themselves in the open space.”

Arnosky said that gardens are a way to grow not just vegetables, herbs and flowers, but to grow oneself.

“If you Google the phrase ‘gardening quotes,’ you come up with tons of inspirational statements about the soul-affirming experiences of growing things,” Arnosky said. “When you’re in the garden, you see insects and plants right up close. You also face all the problems that come with gardening, but as you conquer these challenges you become wiser and more resilient in life.”

Arnosky said she enjoys gardening because it’s a never-ending exploration of what’s possible.

“Eating is much more amazing when you’ve grown the food yourself,” she said. “Learning to cook at home again is necessary for some folks, so I recommend buying cookbooks that teach how to use the vegetables you’re growing.”

In times of hardship, life is full of surprises.

“The unexpected thing was that people began coming out to the Blue Barn simply to enjoy the landscape of flowers, trees and the beautiful long views of the fields,” Arnosky said.

The Blue Barn on Arnosky Family Farms is located at 13977 Farm-to-Market 2325, eight miles east of Blanco. They have another location near Wimberley. Call 830-833-5428 or visit their website at www.texascolor.com for more info on what’s in season and events.