Table 1.

Description of intervention components and pre-post measures used in a pilot study of a home-based vegetable gardening intervention among older cancer survivors (n=46)

Measure/Component	Description
Intervention Components
Meet’n’Greet	Participants and Master Gardeners met each other at these initial 2-hour meetings convened at local county extension offices. Slide presentations were given about the gardening program and ample time provided for questions and answers. Most of the gardening supplies, with the exception of raised beds, Earthboxes® and soil (which were home-delivered) were provided at these meetings.
Master Gardener Mentoring	Master Gardeners were instructed to visit with the participant once a month and assess the home garden, during which time guidance would be given about pest control, harvesting, replanting, etc. Master Gardeners also were instructed to either email or telephone the participant in-between each of these visits to encourage engagement and provide ample mentorship on gardening techniques.
Facebook	A private Facebook page was established for all intervention participants in which they could post their progress and discuss in an open forum any issues they were experiencing.
Garden	Participants chose either a 4′x8′ raised bed or 4 Earthboxes® and were provided with appropriate soil mix; these supplies were delivered directly to their home.
Supplies	Standard supplies were: (1) garden and soaker hoses; (2) watering can; (3) spade; (4) cultivator; (5) hoe; (6) frost cover; (7) trellis; (8) seeds; (9) transplants; (10) fertilizer; (11) Neem oil/insect soap (to repel pests using “soft chemistry”); and (12) fertilizer; Deer fences were provided to those needing them.
Workbook	Pocket folders included contact information, as well as planting schedules and garden planning, sun safety, safe lifting (to avoid back injury and lymphedema), and trouble shooting.
Pre-post Evaluative Measures
Vegetable and Fruit Intake [Eating at America’s Table Screener (EATS)]16	10-item questionnaire developed by the NCI that assesses both the frequency and portion size of F&V intake without imposing substantial participant burden. This instrument has proven reliability and validity in cancer populations and in the elderly, and has excellent concordance when compared to 24-hour recalls.
Physical Activity [Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ)]17	3-item instrument that elicits self-reported frequency and average minutes of duration of strenuous, moderate and mild exercise/week was used based on excellent reliability and validity in cancer survivors.
Anthropometric Measures (Height, Weight and Waist Circumference)13	Height and weight assessed in light clothing without shoes. Weight was measured using a calibrated portable scale (to nearest 0.1 kg) placed on non-carpeted flooring. Height was measured only at baseline upon inhale using a portable stadiometer (nearest 0.5 cm). Waist circumference was measured at the level of the umbilicus upon exhale using a non-stretch, tension-controlled tape measure (nearest 0.5 cm); two measures were taken and averaged.
Physical Performance (Senior Fitness Battery)14	This battery includes assessments of lower and upper body strength (30-second chair stand, arm curl), endurance (2-minute step test), flexibility (chair sit-and-reach, back scratch), and agility/dynamic balance (8-foot Get Up & Go); the test battery provides an objective measure of physical function, is sensitive to change, and not associated with ceiling effects. Additional measures included (1) hand grip strength in kilograms measured using a dynamometer (Creative Products, Ann Arbor, MI); (2) gait speed as measured by the number of seconds needed to complete an 8-foot walk; and (3) balance measured by completion of side-by-side, tandem and semi-tandem stances for 10-seconds (range 0–6).
Perceived Stress20 [Perceived Stress Scale [PSS])	The PSS is a 10-item scale used to measure the degree to which situations in an individual’s life are appraised with stress; it has been widely used and validated in multiple patient populations.
Reassurance of Worth21	This 4-item subscale of the Social Provision Scale was used to assess the psychosocial benefits of gardening; it has been used previously in gardening interventions and provides information on enhanced self-esteem that results from increased independence and increased zest for life.79,91 Reliability estimates range from 0.60 to 0.70.223
Quality of Life (QoL) [Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36)]12	The SF-36 provides a global measure of health-related QoL, and component summaries (and specific subscales) for physical health (physical functioning, role limitations due to physical reasons, bodily pain, and general health perception subscales) and mental health (social functioning; vitality, energy and fatigue; role limitations due to emotional problems; and mental health subscales). The SF-36 is one of the most widely-used instruments to assess QoL across various patient populations and age groups. The intra-class correlations are high and range from 0.78 to 0.93.
Self-Efficacy22,24	Self-efficacy is the organizing concept in SCT, and is defined as belief in the capability to organize and execute courses of action to deal with prospective situations. Self-efficacy beliefs are domain-specific; thus, participants were asked, “How confident (sure) they were that they could maintain a thriving vegetable garden, or exercise at least an additional 30 min/week or eat at least 1 more serving of V&F/day [anchors: “very sure (4),” “sure (3),” neither sure nor unsure (2),” “unsure (1),” or “very unsure (0)”].
Social Support23	Social support items for eating and exercise habits from Sallis et al.224 were employed given use in diverse samples and strong psychometric properties (α=.70). Frequency (anchors: “never,” “once a month or less,” “more than once a month, but less than once a week,” “more than once a week, but less than everyday,” or “everyday”) of friends and family either “listening to concerns,” “assisting with,” “encouraging choices favorable to,” and “agreeing with decisions to” eat more V&F, or exercise was assessed, and items were adapted to elicit similar information about tending a vegetable garden.