While growing a vegetable garden is by no means a hero’s journey of myth and legend, it still contains much of the drama and the insights on perhaps a smaller scale. Last year was my first year working in a vegetable garden and was more or less a means of spending time with my father who died last January. I was also hoping to take on some of the heavy work for him but at 82, he outpaced me. This year, I am soloing without my dad’s advice but certainly with a sense that he’s looking over my shoulder. It’s as much a tribute to him at this point as it is a means of getting fresh, healthy vegetables on my plate. I recall more conversations with him when hoeing weeds than probably any other time.
And while it’s not a hero’s journey, there’s much to be learned from a garden. Like a journey, you need to be prepared. You need to till the soil, add nutrients, and plan the best location for the plants you want to grow. Some plants need a lot of room and some plants not so much. Some do better planted next to certain other plants and some can cross-pollinate weirdly in the wrong spot. I’m told you don’t want to grow hot peppers next to sweet peppers. Planning and research reduces the need for “do overs” and the occurrence of failure.
If you don’t weed a lot, you may lose track of your seedlings in the messy meaningless vegetation which are weeds. Weeds also rob the plants that you want to be strong of needed nutrients. Weeding is a matter of focus and attention, as is simplifying life and prioritizing.
Plants must have water whether the heavens provide it or not. If the sky refuses to release the needed moisture onto the garden, you have to respond accordingly. It hasn’t rained here in over three weeks. Railing against the sky does no good. In the garden, as in life, shaking your fist at a turn of events that is out of your control is futile. Hauling buckets of water or setting up hoses and irrigation is the proper response. When the dirt blows like dust, in reality or metaphorically, the only good response is asking “What is the best thing that I can do now?”
When the “stink bugs” destroy your zucchini like they did mine, you have to ask, is it worth trying again or is this not the right place and time for zucchini. If you decide to persist and that replanting is they way to go, you learn what it takes to eradicate the bugs and restore the area as a safe place to grow zucchini. You learn from your experience. If you decide not to replant, you let it go, perhaps to try again another summer or not at all. Either way, you’ve learned something about zucchini and stink bugs. (I believe persistence pays, so I replanted.)
Timing is, perhaps not everything, but darn important. I planted broccoli in June not knowing that broccoli prefers cooler weather. I’m still watching to see if they will produce even in the record heat of North Carolina this summer. I doubt it will do well because everything has a season and a little research would have informed me that the season for broccoli isn’t June. It’s generally planted very early in the Spring or very late in the Summer to early Fall. Being sensitive to correct timing is usually essential to getting things done. I will be planting broccoli again in September, and it will be a reminder that everything has its time.
Home gardening: vitamins, minerals, and timely reminders about life.
