I am no Master Gardener, by any means (tho, I hope to take the class one day soon!). But I know what I have learned in gardening. And it usually starts with a "don't". Here are some things I have learned:
- Don't let your chickens have free range of your garden. They will leave nothing but weeds for YOU.
- Don't leave on a week vacation, and think that the weeds won't be SUPER BAD when you get back. You must WORK at cleaning them out, or they will take over!
- Don't assume that, those last minute seeds that you got discounted at the local farm supply store in the little envelopes, are going to be your best crop ever. THEY PROBABLY WON'T BE A CROP AT ALL. I had to plant green beans last year 3 times, before the rows even started to fill in. And there were still HORRIBLE bare spots.
- Don't assume that when your busy husband says, "Honey, don't pick all of those weeds by hand! I will get them with the tiller!", that he actually WILL. Notice I said BUSY hubby. He is already busy, why do I think he will have time for the fun and excitement of tilling weeds under? Maybe I could bribe him with brownies...
- Don't assume that because it is raining for 7 days straight, that the weeds will hold off on growing, because you couldn't get out in the garden and tackle them. No. They will grow. And they will grow FASTER than ever.
- Don't assume when you send your 3 sons out to your beloved garden to weed for 30 minutes, that they will actually be WEEDING FOR 30 MINUTES. This is a common misconception. I fell for it a few times. NEVER AGAIN.
- Don't assume that because there is a LOT of hard work in having a garden, that it isn't the most rewarding experience. BECAUSE IT IS REWARDING. It is BEYOND rewarding! Knowing that you and God, worked together to care for a nurture some little plants that grew into bigger plants, and then provided some of the HEALTHIEST food your family will ever eat. THAT is rewarding!
If you have the time (and you DO need TIME!) and the desire to grow ANYTHING, DO IT! You can start planning now! I know I am... ahhhh!
How about you? What have you learned in gardening, that you could share with us? :)
2 comments:
So funny about sending the boys to weed...I found myself not wanting them to help weed anything until they would tell which were weeds and which were little plants....once I "let" them help they did well...I think 15 minutes of weeding is enough at a time...enough to help..enough to want to come back and help again....30 minutes seems like a life time to them :)
I am going to invest in one of those little bitty tillers this year....my mil has one that we used twice last year...so worth the $150 or bucks they cost....#1 I can do it myself and not wait on hubby...grin...#2 I can till my whole garden in about 30-45 minutes iwith that baby as opposed to hours upon hours by hand...equaling a very sore back...
I can't wait to start our garden this spring. I'm thinking about getting those little seedling trays and starting it early in the house and then transferring it outside later. it took almost a year for our indoor herb garden to take off and even then it's still struggling.
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