I do this every single year...I've killed supposedly un-killable aloe plants. My thumbs are only green if I've been painting with green paint. Things only get watered if the hubby reminds me or if he's kind enough to run the irrigator past the garden. And my chosen method for weeding usually involves a fully-fueled weed whip. My theory on gardening is to let my husband plow the garden and smooth the dirt as best he can with the tractor, plunk some fence posts in the ground to roughly mark my rows, dribble a few seeds down the (mostly crooked) row, weed once or twice a summer, and pray I get something out of the weed patch I call my garden. (I always picture a sign by my garden saying, "Weedville Population 10,000")
A master gardener, I obviously am not.
So why do I continue to plant a garden year after year? Because there is just something about eating a tomato YOU raised and tended and (in my case) rescued from the chicken's beaks and children's grubby hands. That fresh-from-the-garden taste can't be duplicated with store-bought produce. I start off each year with the best of intentions-daily weeding, regular watering, and neatly labeled stick straight rows. And each year, I end up losing those good intentions somewhere after I've planted the seeds. But I persevere because I'm hopeful at some point I'll get so enthused about gardening, I'll ENJOY pulling those weeds and I'll be HAPPY to dig in the dirt and I'll NOT kill every other plant out there. And c'mon, who doesn't love those juicy red tomatoes picked straight from the vine, those sweet cobs of corn plucked from the slender stalks, or dig those fist-sized spuds from their dirt home and know "I did this. I GREW this."?
And every year I do a little more. This year, I got an extra weeding in there. Yep, I weeded a whole THREE times...A new record for me. I downsized the size of my garden and I weed whacked the weedy section before it could go to seed so I prevented at least this year's crop of weed offspring from adding to the population boom. Another new thing for me.
And the African Violet on my window sill is going strong even after a year and a half of semi-neglect...
Hmmm...There might just be a hint of green in these thumbs 'o mine after all.
2 comments:
Hang in there! Those thumbs will turn green eventually. :) I wonder if doing many small gardens closer to the house would be easier?!!? (just a thought)
Thought about it actually but my garden isn't really that far from the house and it's conveniently situated between two water hookups for the cows water tanks so I have an instant supply of water whenever I need it. Plus, the hubby can prep the soil for me in the Spring with just a slight detour off the driveway as he's going by with the plow. It's more I'm lazy and would rather sit in my comfy easy chair sipping iced tea while reading a book than sweating in the sun while swatting flies and pulling prickly plants. :P
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