Gardening Note to Self…

Edee,

For the years to come, while you’re yearning for spring to spring, before you even feel an inkling to go out in the cold dreary garden, PLANT SEEDS INSIDE on March 1st.

Because every year, the minute the clouds go away and the sun finally comes out, you realize that everything else in the world was already boosting and bursting. The sun dramatizes the colors, the bolts, the shoots, and the life that you didn’t see under blah-gray skies and rain.

If you plant seeds inside once the sun comes out, you realize you’re already about two or three weeks behind. It sneaks up on you every year!

On the seed note…

As much as you love the idea of planting lots of seeds straight into the garden, YOU KNOW what will happen… The birds will watch you walk back to the house. They will call all of their friends for a fun garden-pillaging party. As much as you love them, they watch your every move from the branches above, then descend on your little fairytale when you’re gone. They have seed radar. You’ve learned that. The next morning, you see their tracks and all the tiny holes where your seeds used to be. Or sometimes, you don’t see their evidence at all. Only when no plants come up two weeks later have you realized what happened after planting them.

The few seeds the birds leave grow into beautiful, tender shoots – siren songs that call to the scattered community of slugs to come in for the annual food orgy, like a diminutive gastronomic Burning Man. Then they never leave. They permanently park their shells within your fencing for the rest of the summer. You don’t kill them; you displace them. But they know where your little remaining shoots live.

Another thing…

DON’T give in to the annual temptation to buy a bunch of seeds that look at you so alluringly. Your garden is in the forest. You know now from seven years of trial, hope, and error that the only things that grow with a few hours of sunlight each day in your plot are kale, snap peas, and herbs. As much garden jealousy you have of others with sunlit plots who grow abundant tomatoes, zucchinis, and bell peppers, your little garden biome is not Mediterranean. You’ll have to accept that and move on.

Also…

In your excitement to grow a garden every year, you think too big for the small space you have. Less is more. Literally. You’ve learned over and over again that the more you pack in, the lamer the plants grow. Give each plant plenty of space to flourish and expand, and you’ll reap the rewards of fewer plants with larger production.

Finally…

After all these years, keep in mind the single most important thing you’ve learned: The lack of productivity you’ve experienced every single year is directly related to the quality of the soil. Even though it’s half rocks and pine needles, don’t give up now. Even though the rats eat all the amazing kitchen scraps you take outside every week, press on and build that composter on the YouTube DIY. Your garden will not always be a flop. The minute you get composted material in there, it will rejuvenate. Then, you will have a basketful of homegrown produce again, like the first year when new soil was laid down.

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