• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Frugal Gardening

Simple ways to save money while you garden

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Garden Frugally
  • Buy These
  • Privacy Policy
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

5 Fun Hobbies to Keep You Busy This Winter

December 16, 2019 by Steph Coelho Leave a Comment

image_pdfimage_print

The ice has arrived. It covers the roads, the driveway, and most of the garden. The leftover plants have turned into icy statues. The wind blows, and they remain immobile. The light coating of snow makes everything look intensely beautiful, though. At this time of year, I get to sit down and enjoy the first full month of no-gardening. There are no more tools to clean or put away. There’s nothing more to remove from the earth — everything is frozen, so I couldn’t even if I wanted to. There’s nothing left to harvest, and I no longer visit the garden beds each morning. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I think it’s true of gardening, as well. 

It’s easy to slip into a bad attitude at this time of year. The cold and ever-changing weather makes people cranky. I’m lucky that I happen to enjoy the chilly temperatures, but I understand how darker days and inclement weather take their toll. When your favorite hobby has to be put on hold, what are you supposed to do? 

I like to take the extra time as an opportunity to spend time on other hobbies. Winter is the ideal time to sink your teeth into a new hobby or re-discover activities that you tend to neglect the rest of the year while you garden.

Here are a few recommendations:

Cross-stitch

I’ve yet to physically cross-stitch anything, but I’ve made it a point to read about it. My goal is to complete one project before I have to get into the nitty-gritty of seed starting — which may be sooner rather than later since the catalogs have already begun arriving in my mailbox! 

Reading

I’m an avid reader twelve months out of twelve, but there’s nothing quite like snuggling up with a book in the wintertime. Even non-readers might enjoy flipping through the pages of a good book when the temperature dips. If reading fails to keep your attention, try listening to audiobooks. If you really miss gardening and can’t stop thinking about your favorite hobby, pick out stories with gardening-related twists,
or grab a non-fiction gardening book to learn something new.

Cooking

Crack open the cookbooks on your shelf and learn how to utilize all of the produce you’ve harvested and preserved. Find recipes that inspire you to use the jars of tomatoes, frozen peas, and dried fruit you collected earlier in the year.

Snowshoeing

Gardening is a fairly active hobby, especially if you have a large plot of land. Weeding, digging, and moving around structures and dirt takes quite a bit of energy. Don’t sit around all winter and do nothing! Keep your body moving. The cold weather doesn’t have to bar you from heading outside. One of my favorite winter activities is snowshoeing — you’ll find plenty of affordable options at most big box stores or sports shops. It’s a great way to discover trail networks nearby and work up a sweat. 

Indoor planting

Can’t stop thinking about the summer gardening season? If you really miss your plants and can’t fathom getting into any other hobby, why not brush up on your indoor gardening skills. Some of the best gardeners I know are lousy when it comes to taking care of indoor plants. If you can’t seem to keep a plant alive for more than a month, spend December, January, and February learning how to properly care for potted plant life. Not sure which plant to introduce into your space? Try an air plant! 

Do you have any winter hobbies? What activities to you turn to when gardening is not an option? Leave a comment and let me know 🙂

Steph Coelho

Steph Coelho is a freelance writer gardening in zone 5b. She is a certified Square Foot Gardener and has taught various garden-related workshops. When she’s not digging in the dirt or writing, she’s cooking up fresh produce, running, or listening to her favorite podcasts.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Previous Post: « Reasons Why Tomato Foliage Curl
Next Post: You Need to Mulch Trees for the Winter: Here’s Why »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar




Popular Posts

  • Garden For FreeGarden For Free by Steph Coelho Is it possible to have a lush flower garden, produce…
  • Using Shredded Paper As Garden MulchUsing Shredded Paper As Garden Mulch by Steph Coelho Should you use shredded paper as garden mulch? Normally, I…
  • How To Get Free Seeds From The GovernmentHow To Get Free Seeds From The Government by Steph Coelho   At first glance, seeds seem like a relatively inexpensive…
  • Vinegar Uses In GardenVinegar Uses In Garden by Steph Coelho 1. Clay Pot Cleaning: Vinegar will remove the white salt…
hands in white gloves packing a plant for transport

Packing Plants for Transport

Packing plants for moving or shipping can feel daunting. Yet, you put so much care and effort into these beings that you can’t imagine them being damaged during transport. I will show you how to pack seeds, cuttings, bare-root plants, and whole plants for transport. Transporting Seeds Seeds are the easiest things to transport. Start…

Read More

onions growing in a container on a kitchen counter, edible plants you can grow inside

Edible Plants You Can Grow Inside

Growing edible plants inside isn’t tricky. All you need is an appropriate container, enough light, and to pick varieties that grow well in containers. Picking the Right Container Whenever you want to grow edible plants inside, you need to pick a container that meets the needs of your plants. When picking a container, you must…

Read More

beets with snow on them, top 8 edible plants you can grow in winter

Top 8 Edible Plants You Can Grow in Winter

When temperatures start to drop, many people think gardening has to stop. That’s not true. Here are the top 8 edible plants you can grow in winter. Tons of edible plants can survive winter temperatures, rain, and poor soil drainage conditions. And purple varieties, in particular, contain a compound (anthocyanin) that helps prevent root rot…

Read More

tiktok gardener

The Best TikTok Gardening Channels

  Tiktok is a great place to feel community. And #gardentok does not disappoint. Below is a list of the Tiktok Gardening channels! Gardening with Goo Gardening with Goo follows Goo and his garden! He constantly grows tasty-looking veggies and spreads real know-how by sharing his experiences.  Growing with Gertie Gertie (aka Katie) shares top-tier gardening…

Read More

Footer

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework