Faith in your Gardening

[digitS']

Developing "faith" in your gardening skills is important. Just starting out and becoming a whiz-bang gardener probably isn't the norm. Faith.M's post on Jackb's thinking spring thread made me think of something -- having "faith" in your gardening and how you might go about gaining that.

If you still have snow on the ground, Faith.M, you must live in a place with a short growing season. Remember that it is seeds to leaves to flowers to fruit to seeds. At least, that's how most of them do it.

People can grow sprouts just about anywhere. You don't even need soil or an outdoors! A few days, sprouts! Next, some plants are only useful to us as leaves, lettuce think of one . . . let us . . . get it? It's early, my coffee shouldn't be getting cold . . .

Flowers? Everyone loves flowers! Except when it is our lettuce. Okay, there is broccoli. It is a cool-season plant and can go out in the garden early - getting a "jump" on things and showing up in the garden as a transplant. Not everything transplants well but broccoli do, uh, does.

Tomatoes transplant well, or okay anyway. They are NOT a cool-season plant and might even just turn purple and sit there and look at you when you put them out early. I don't even want to talk about what they look like if they freeze! Their flowers are small and may not even be seen unless you are up close to the plants. What you want to see is fruit!

With some of the tomato varieties I have, the fruit may not really even show up until September. A lot can go wrong between spring and September. A lot can really go wrong in September. One of my gardens had frost in August, a few years ago!

Then there is something like corn - pretty much only good for its seeds. A lot of gardeners won't even grow corn. "Takes up too much room." What it does is take up room for a long time and after a warm-season start and then, and only then, might give us some seeds to chew off a cob.

So, that leaves leaves . . . I mean, for just about a sure-fire garden crop - something that you can get out early, that takes some cold and will provide something useful in the kitchen - leaves. No not tomato leaves but lettuce and spinach and Asian greens . And, then you can probably do it all over again beginning in late summer, like sowing some of those seeds for leaf crops in late August. A gardener can feel like a real success growing leaves.

Steve

 

[897tgigvib]

Gardeners have faith, lots of faith. Faith that the seeds will sprout. Faith that the weather will be as expected. Faith that we built our soil right, that we planned things right, that the hungry critters and organisms will leave us alone, or that we prevent them from too much damage.

Different than large scale farmers, we grow several or many varieties in a small space, things that take and enjoy different conditions, and that grow in ways large scale farmers won't touch. Things on poles or in cages. We have faith that we can do it. We know our climates and what we enjoy and work a lot of things into it.

 

[the1honeycomb]

Thanks for the words of encouragement! I am having faith that my my garden will take care of me this year. and I will take care of it I know nothing of building my soil right I just mix all the advice I get here and hope that my plants like it!!! God Bless you and those in need and may this year be bountiful!!row

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

But with every time we see the evidence of a past hope, our faith grows. So with every sprout that sprouts, every flower that opens, every fruit that produces, your faith in your gardening skills grow.

Here is to a productive and fruitful growing season ya'll!!

 

[baymule]

Some of my earliest memories are of me toddling behind my Daddy in his garden. I absorbed his vast knowlege just by doing what my Daddy did. Over the adult years of my life, I have had or not had gardens. I have been gardening for 8 years now year around, non stop. The sprouting of that tiny seed never fails to amaze me. The abundance of that one tiny seed makes me profoundly grateful to God for the increase. I marvel at the diversity of the food we eat and I am delighted to be a part of growing heritage varieties to help keep them alive for future generations to come.

 

[Jared77]

I agree 100%. I think the 3 things that make a successful gardener are faith, not being afraid to fail, and the ability to learn from our mistakes.

Faith is taking tiny little seeds and knowing that if you plant them you'll get plants. Faith that you selected the right seeds, did the proper prep (be it soil, seed etc) and the faith that they will grow and provide for us as we hope. If you don't believe, why bother?

Not being afraid to fail is just that. Take a risk. Acting on "what if I...." or "I've always wanted....." and not being fenced in by doubt and fear of not being successful. Try something new. So what if you fail? Its not the end of the world. In my garden I always have what I call my Island row of misfit plants. Its a collection of trial run varieties. Couple plants of different varieties I want to try. If I like them and they do well they get integrated, if not then I grow something else the following year. Same with new techniques. Some are colossal failures others are staples in my garden now. But I won't let my fear of something not doing well stop me from trying something new and you shouldn't either.

The ability to learn from our mistakes is a big one. If you can't learn your doomed to repeat them. If we can learn why something failed, then we can do better the next time we try, and expand that knowledge and become a better gardener.

Just something to think about, and expand on what Steve said. Great thread Steve.

 

[the1honeycomb]

The sprouting of that tiny seed never fails to amaze me!! you said that right! god will provide and Faith starts in so many places.
hoping for healthy harvest for everyone!