Planting for Pleasure

I like to jump into an activity without much background knowledge. I am too lazy to study up, so I learn as I go. I used to be very active, but my body does not move quite so well. I also used to bake and experiment with different ingredients, but I have lost motivation recently, especially since I now live with family and the food goes so much faster. I did pick up one hobby that I still get excited about.

My parents had a backyard garden for years. I enjoyed working out in the garden and picking out the produce that was ripe and ready. A few years back, I knew I was headed for a major change in my life. Going from full-time teacher to full-time student would bring quite the reduction in income. I thought that growing some of my own fruits and veggies would help reduce some of my food expenses. While my endeavors have not been highly productive, I have enjoyed each years’ planting time, even with all of its frustrations.

My garden consists of pots on the porch. I do not own land, nor do I have the income for large containers or an above-ground setup like the neighbor has. I tend to have some indoor plants that usually stay alive for at least a few years if not longer. Sometimes I lose some when I vacation for a couple of weeks in the summer. I take my scissors to trim off dead leaves. Many of the plants can revive.

My outdoor growths cause so much more frustration. Sometimes the seed packages do not indicate how to care for the plant. Maybe I just buy the seeds that are too cheap to include the information. Remember! I don’t study. I don’t even know what some of the things will look like when they are full-grown. So far, I have not had to worry about that much.

I grab my pots, seeds, soil, gloves, and scissors. I cut open the bags and pour the soil. I like planting seeds and planting hope for how they will grow. Often in less than a week, I can start to see at least of few of the seeds begin to sprout. This is one of the most exciting times for me. I will go visit the pots several times a day to see how much they are coming and up and how many more plants are starting to break through the dirt. It is exhilarating. Life from a seed!

As they grow into beautiful leafy greens, I get more excited. I like the curly greens of the beans, but the carrot tops are very special with their different green shades and shapes. I have grown things that grow up straight and start to fall. I have tasted onion, carrot, sugar peas, and rosemary that I have grown. Most of those items are in singular form because I did not grow much of them to maturity.

Many challenges have hindered me, but I learn as I go. I fought the weather, too hot and then too rainy. Fortunately, in the southern states, I had enough time in the growing season to start over. Perhaps it was the second year that I learned to punch holes in the bottoms of the pots so the buds do not drown, especially during my vacation time. That time, they did not all die when I was gone. I also learned that I needed deeper pots for some things. The roots were cramped and starving. Last year, I had my most successful porch garden so far . . . until I had to pack it all up and move north. Neither my garden nor myself adjusted to the move very well. Now, almost a year later, I have settled in pretty well, but my garden is struggling. I have to relearn the weather patterns up here. Yet, again, it is early enough in the growing season to adjust to the northern weather and critters. I can’t wait to see how this growing season ends.