Garden of Weeds

I am, at best, a haphazard gardener. I don’t mind planting the seeds and I certainly enjoy eating my harvest, but everything in between I could do without. This is evident if you wander through my garden at present. It’s taken me a week to weed the garden and I am not even done. About a third of it will need weed whacking it’s so overgrown. It’s so bad I am amazed that I am getting any sort of a harvest at all. Every year, I start out with grand intentions of weekly weedings, regular waterings, and timely harvesting. And every year, those habits last about two weeks before I find other things to occupy myself. The weeds take over, plants start wilting, and everything gets overripe. This year is no exception. I just spent four days weeding my garden. It was necessary since you couldn’t distinguish the potato plants from the pigweed and the only way to find green beans was to get on hands and knees and hunt through the waist high quack grass. About a third of the garden will need to be weed whacked because it’s so overgrown. (At least there isn’t anything planted there this year…) What puzzles me so much is why I let it get so bad. I am aware that weekly weedings would take far less time and energy (and result in less sunburnt shoulders) than letting the weeds get waist high before pulling them. My plants wouldn’t look so pitifully spindly if I would water on a regular basis. I wouldn’t have to deal with the sore knees and aching back. My fingers wouldn’t be pricked by the sticker plants if I were to pull them at two inches instead of two feet. It would be far easier to just get out there and do what needs to be done every week instead of waiting a month (or more). So, as I head back out into my garden tonight to pick the overripe green beans and peas, I vow once again to be a better gardener. Let’s see if my good intentions last longer than a half hour.