GARDENING FAILURES

 

I THINK THIS IS FROM 2021 
NEW PICTURES PENDING

I do not believe in spending a lot of money buying things to grow That my ancestors grew without. Such things as store bought raised beds, fertilizers and even pre-built greenhouses, these items can be a budget buster or a waist of money if you decide you don’t like gardening.  I have always loved gardening, when I lived in Maryland, Florida and now North Carolina, and have had varying success. Even farmers have failed cop!

One of the best lessons I learned from my gardening failures, the first lesson,  is the type of gardener I am.

This gardening season Grok has become my new best friend. I have quite a few gardening books and my favorite seed catalogue: The Whole Seed Catalogue. Lesson number two: research, research, research.

This year I chose to order plants not seeds because, work and those hand embroidery projects have kept me very busy.

In preparation for having a flower and vegetable garden,  I coordinated ordering my plants with the work my yardman was commissioned to do.  The plants came, days before he was scheduled to work,  but he did not show up for over 3 weeks; he is scheduled to cut my grass every two weeks.  I fired him, this was the second time he canceled his services with me in exchange for another job.  Lesson number three motivated me to not depend on the new yardman to do what I need to get done in a timely fashion.

The new yardman prepared my ground as requested and I went out and purchased plants.  It is important for the reader to understand; I have to coordinate my work schedule with yardwork and an embroidery project. I ordered plants for the raised bed flower area, and then on my day off I went to two places too purchase the plants I wanted from a customer I trusted.

My plants are in their proper containers. Unlike the first time I planted vegetables, when I lived in South Florida, I used soil specifically for container vegetables, my ancestors grew everything in the ground and used homemade compost- I don’t have time for that, not this year. With each plant I double checked with Grok as to: what size container, the number of plants per container, and were two different plants compatible. Grok said no to one but yes to the rest!

As I was winding down, I was very excited to discover there was ginger in a container. I had not harvested the ginger last year even though I knew it was ready because I did not know what to do with all of it.   Lesson number four: Know what to do with what you produce before it is time to harvest.

I am looking forward to my potential harvest. I have already decided to use what I deem necessary to be successful, knowing my ancestors will be proud. After all, I am living in my grandfather’s house, he was a successful gardner,

Written by Marsha L Floyd
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