I started the gardening season very excited and full of expectations for the beautiful harvest. However, this happened to be a big learning experience about not only the gardening itself but also personal and spiritual growth as well. When the time came to start the garden, I was optimistic and took out my beautiful markers.
Some vegetables I had my own seedlings for that I started months prior like tomatoes and bell peppers. Other vegetables I planted the seeds directly to the soil. Watching them grow or not... I was learning:
Garden things. Vegetables have different requirements of the amount of sun and water they need. They have to be watched carefully for a signs of pests. They need to be pruned. And picked at the right time.
Personal things. Responsibility, hard work and self-discipline is an absolute must in order to keep your crops alive. When nothing grows you must accept your failure and celebrate the success if something does grow. Be grateful for what you're able to achieve.
Spiritual things. I keep telling God I don't want to be pruned because it hurts and as I look at my garden with no pruning at all... it doesn't look good. Big vegetables taking over the space and prevent the small ones for flourishing. That's tough on my soul.
As for the many vegetables I planted I may not get to eat much of them for a variety of reasons. Some didn't make it because of my neglection or lack of sufficient knowledge, others because of external factors like weather and pests. If you really care about your garden and put a lot of work into it you'll harvest. Since I did not; not necessarily that I didn't want to it's just the list of the things I need to do every day is longer than I can afford timewise. So I harvested what I sowed... figuratively speaking. I took good care of my tomatoes and it was a pleasure to watch them grow!
The garden is partly shaded so it seems that they like it and even though they weren't water regularly the fruit looks good and it tastes real too. I enjoyed a few cherry tomatoes already.
I don't know much about the pests but my bell peppers and lettuce were definitely attacked by someone.
I didn't inform myself yet of how to treat this. Even though, the bell peppers are progressing into fruit.
I was curious to try this year carrots and sugar snap peas. They are starting to look good.
However I don't think I picked the peas at the right time so they almost look overgrown and carrots still don't seem to be ready.
Some of the other vegetables that I planted like zucchini simply didn't sprout at all. No idea why.
The surprise though was that potatoes that I didn't plant this time appeared! They must be the leftovers from last year.
Regardless of my outputs I am simply going to take a step back and start figuring it out again. I recently visited Green Things Farm and talked with Hanna. She shared some of her work and she gave me some advice, help and inspiration.
Firstly, they do things on a bigger scale than I do and they treat their gardening projects very seriously, having hoop and green houses.
They harvest more of single item than I have all together. As professional farmers they put lots of attention to the timing of things, knowing when plant what and when to harvest as well. They know how to care of the vegetables, how much to water and how to prune them. Also, they react quickly and correctly to save them if there is a problem.
The reward is great!
You can sign up for CSA with them, meet them at markets, pick your own flowers or visit their self serve stand.
The visit to their farm was very informative, motivating and encouraging. Thank you Hanna!
As much as I'd like to get beautiful vegetables as they have I'm not that dedicated and knowledgeable yet. Or even motivated yet! As for now I do enjoy my tiny garden, especially since the tomatoes seem to be a success!
Hanna
a beautiful member of Green Things Farm Collective, where she grows delicious vegetables, fruits, herbs and invites others to share her passion.
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