Overcoming My Fears: Gardening
Remember when I made that confession about
being scared to work with dough? Well, here is another one of those kind of confessions. I really stink at gardening and I mean STINK! I swear that when the flowers see me coming, they start to wither and hold each other. The violets really do shrink into a ball and the tulips sag their heads. Despite working in a nursery every summer of my high school and college career, I just never was that great with plants. I thought it might be genetic because my mom is the same way, but my grandmother maintains a beautiful garden and the flowers seem to all stand to attention for her.
I also don't like being outdoors. Or being too hot. Or being dirty. Or working too hard. Basically, I am your average girly-girl, who was just made to sit in the shade and sip iced tea.
Fortunately, this girly-girl is extremely frugal, and my dismay with produce prices really got the best of me. I thought to myself, "Why not have a garden for myself?" I immediately pictured myself bringing baskets of beautiful produce to our friends and family to share the bounty of my hard work. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be the neighbor that people can't wait to see knock on their door with loads of yummy treats?
So...I did it! I overcame my fear of planting (and getting dirty) and planted myself a little vegetable garden. I managed to plant parsley, rosemary, sweet basil, cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes and green peppers.
Don't worry, I was not wearing these shoes....
But I was wearing this highly fashionable John Deere shirt. Why not get into the spirit, I say?
Above is our finished product and I couldn't be more proud! I greeted my hubby at the door with the biggest smile he had ever seen. He gave me the strangest look and said, rather scared, "You have dirt on your face."
So, avid gardening readers, share with me your BEST gardening tips! Tell me everything you know! How do you keep those pesky varmints away from the greens? What is your tip for the best produce imaginable? What is the one thing you wish you would have known when you began dabbling in gardening? Does it run in your family? Please share!
Labels: Frugal, Gardening
10Comments:
Ivy
"Haha, you're too cute in your John Deere shirt! I got my garden going this weekend, I'm a notorious plant murderer myself, so I understand your fear!"
"I LOVE to garden! Don't know if it runs in my family as my mother didn't enjoy it but my grandmother did. Both children can kill a fake plant! My tip - Mulch those plants like mad! It will stop the need for most weeding and keep the ground cooler and keep in the watering. Your job will become much easier! Gotta love that right! Enjoy your garden, it looks wonderful and spaced apart really well. Lynn"
"Congratulations.
I, like you, don't like to get dirty. Fortunately, my husband is a gardener -- the kind of gardnener other people ask for advice. People often ask him about tomatoes and peppers, and the thing I've heard him say more than anything else is that tomato plants and pepper plants don't like each other and do much better if they're not near each other."
"I am so impressed Amy! You go girl! If you need any advice to keep those cute little plants alive, you know how to reach me! Kendra"
Stephanie
"I'm so excited for you! Way to go!"
Lindsey @ Enjoythejourney
"I used to HATE gardening and being dirty with a passion so I know where you are coming from. Now a few years later I absolutely love to piddle in my little garden! I grow organic garlic, onions, a few varieties of tomatoes and lots of herbs. Next year I want to add some squash and beans and lettuces.
The key is learning a little bit more each year as you go. Baby steps. I wouldn't recommend trying to make your own compost and fertilizer and feed the whole neighborhood the first year. Just take it a little at a time and try something new each year. you'll get better and better as you go.
Oh! Teach your children to help you weed. My kids actually love it. they are too young to realize they're doing the cruddy garden job! :)
Have you read the book, The $64 Tomato? It is funny and talks about one's mans quest to have a perfect kitchen garden!"
Vicky
"Way to go, Amy! I'm actually quite jealous - I've wanted a garden for years, but can't get past the dirt/weeds/heat part. :) We had a HUGE garden to help offset food costs for our family growing up (with 9 kids to feed, 6 of which were hungry boys - who WOULDN'T garden?). I remember hot summer days spent weeding and being eaten alive by mosquitos - NOT my idea of summer vacation! I think that's what holds me back from starting my own. Well, that and the fact that we have a small lot in the city and don't have a lot of room; I'm thinking of doing container gardening. Has anyone done anything like this? It would be more of a salsa garden and maybe some pots for fresh herbs, that kind of thing. As a t-shirt at a gardening center here says, "You grow, girl!" ha ha!"
Karen
"I too have a fear of gardening, but mine is a fear of snakes, and other creatures lurking in the dirt.
I too am sticker shocked at produce though, so I did buy a "patio" tomato plant on Monday that has about 10 tomatoes already on it. I am thinking of getting a few more that can be planted in pots, so that I don't have to dig in the dirt...added bonus is that hopefully the dog can't get to them!"
Amy
"You guys are so helpful! Thanks for all the emails and comments about my garden attempts. I did run out and get some mulch and laid that down. I also put out marigolds to keep the pests away as well as some chicken wire to hopefully keep our family of bunnies (that enjoy our grass so much!) out of there too. Thanks for all of your responses and encouragement."
thehomespunheart
"You are so cute! :) Your garden looks great - let us know how it turns out! This is my first ever successful gardening year and I truly think the secret to its success is all the research I did over the winter months. We tested our soil, amended it with the proper nutrients it was missing, added manure, planted at EXACTLY the right dates and put up a small plastic fence to keep the squirrels out. As my Mom is always saying, a garden is a continually changing thing and you will have good years and not-so-good years; but it is a process that just keeps on going and you learn from each step of the way.
Great job!!!"
