Non-Feminist Ladies, Do you consider gardening a "soft" hobby for a man…?
Posted by pano | Under Herb Garden Sunday Jul 11, 2010I like to do some gardening and grow some of my own vegetables, e.g. tomatoes (different varieties), Kirby cucumbers, eggplant, various herbs, etc. (I’m a male). Do you consider this an effeminate thing or off-putting?
Some of my friends have joked that this is not a manly thing to do but I enjoy this.
How do you feel about this? Please speak about this greatly.
I enjoy having lots of great home-grown vegetables for summer barbecue events.
@Victoria, no I haven’t tried gardening squash; my garden is not too large. I like fresh herbs, grape tomatoes, scallions pretty much all vegetables, but haven’t done squash since I reckon they are very large.
@Tasha- It is very scientific and at the same time like an art form. I think that’s why I dig it.
I’m not a feminist and my husband actually likes gardening also. He is good at it. He is very good at most all things that require a lot of attention and care. I think that is why he is a better parent than I am. I wish I had his patience. No I don’t consider it bad that you like doing this. I actually think that makes you a very nurturing and understanding person. And my husband is a strict vegetarian and will only eat what he grows. Do you also grow squash? My hubby loves squash.
I guess since I come from a family of ranchers and farmers, I think it is manly.My husband has made a large garden in our yard and it is a lot of hard work!
I like gardening too. A mans garden is his personal home project. Come home from work, walk indoors, then walk outdoors….Listen to the difference
no. why? it’s just a hobby just like every other hobby. why does it need to be labelled as ’soft’ or effeminate or something?
i envy you if you are good at it because i have no patience for that sort of thing and i am female.
being to able to grow such things in your own garden is amazing in my opinion. =)
I love gardening and I know many men that are into it. The Master Gardner’s group where I live has plenty of male members and nobody seems to think it is weird. I wouldn’t pay any attention to your friends jokes about your hobby, as long as you enjoy it that is all that matters.
taking care of a garden is hard work. it is a manly thing to do. obviously your friends haven’t done it, or not much.
enjoy your garden!
I wouldn’t mind that in the least.Whatever makes him happy and relaxed,is good.
No, I’ve always associated gardening with men, I think it’s quite a masculine hobby.
There is a nurturing side to growing things, but I think that’s sweet and I’d see it as a positive quality in a man.
My dad loves gardening, he wants to retire soon and do it full time.
i don’t think such vegetables can help maintain a tight punani of man such as yourself.
Really? Your friends must not have gardened because if they had they would know that it can be quite physically demanding. I have a garden and would have a hard time maintaining it alone. My husband helps me with the heavier work and with the weeding because it can be quite straining. Ah well, city folk!
oh my gosh that us so dang sexist…
Anyone who feels like doing gardening can. Put them -your friends- to grow a tomato and watch them kill the freaking plant.
Its not unmanly. Actually, its Very manly. gardening can be a lot of work. Especially if your a farmer. Lots of guys do gardening FYI……
Being able to provide your own food is 110% man.
Don’t your friends realize that Adam was the very first gardener. He was everything except a femmie-man. Very few of the Eve’s of today would respect a man less because of his green thumb.
Soft hobby. That’s a good one. Maybe I need to get a gardening t-shirt that says "My other hobby is Mixed Martial Arts training" just so I won’t have to worry about being mistaken for a wuss.
Seriously, I’m pretty sure I can beat up any of your friends who are calling the manliness of gardening into question. Enjoy your veggies.
No. I think it is a fine thing for a man to garden. Every man is different and if that is what you enjoy then you should do it. I don’t consider gardening to be soft though. It is physically hard. I think your friends don’t know what they are talking about.
No way! My dad does the gardens at my house, and they always look wonderful. He taught me so much about gardening. It his de-stressing time. And I wouldn’t consider him "soft" or anything.
Not at all—my hubby does our veggie gardens, while I tend to the flowers. This summer he is growing 4 different tomatoes, cukes, onions, zucchini, summer squash, beets, carrots, 3 lettuces, radishes, green beans, wax beans, peas, pea pods, asparagus, garlic and pumpkins
I have a smaller "kitchen garden" going at the back door with sweet basil, lemon basil, rosemary, thyme, lemon mint, orange mint, cat mint, parsley and chives.
I love that he gardens, it’s very scientific really, and also theres something pretty sexy about the dirt…lol
Not at all. If you enjoyed growing flowers, maybe I might be able to see their point.
Horticultural therapy can be very thepeutic. I am glad that you have found an outlet for you issues.
I am glad to hear you finally took others advice and are dealing with ongoing problems. Maybe your thoughts will not be so disorganized, and delusional.
If my boyfriend did gardening, I would think it was sexy. It’s nice to see a male interested in gardening. Maybe you should share some of the veggies with your guy friends and show them what comes of it.
Not remotely. My grandfather was one of the pioneers of wildcat environmentalist organic farming to reclaim areas devastated and abandoned by mining in the early 20th century. The whole family follows in his footsteps and we are all mad passionate gardeners. There is nothing better than fresh food from your own kitchen garden.
And no one gets to claim it for their own gender, regardless of their prejudices. The dirt doesn’t care, the worms don’t care, the veggies don’t care, the sun and the rain don’t care.
Growing your own food is a great hobby. Call it farming if that makes you feel better, actually find it pretty sexy!
I don’t think anything of it. You’re an individual and you’re free to do as you please.
I bet you could toss quite the yummy garden salad.
My Dad was an incredible gardener and grew all our vegetables. He also had fruit trees and was an amazing baker. He was probably one of the most masculine men I have known. He was often referred to as a man’s man. He really didn’t care what others thought of him as he was content with himself and did what he enjoyed. He often said he wasn’t on this earth, "to win a popularity contest". I wish more people were like him completely down to earth and unpretentious.
there ain’t nothing wrong…..not a bloody thing wrong with a man gardening.