Evolving Garden/Evolving Gardener

            It’s one thing to plan a garden. It’s quite another to plan a life around a garden.

            The former started on a scratch pad. Corn goes here. Tomatoes there.

            The latter, is an ever-growing organizational folder of notes, contacts, journals and pictures that serve to remind me of this journey, end for which is nowhere in sight (nor do I wish it to be).

            This year marks year three at the whole gardening thing and I gotta tell you, each year comes like a child with its own personality. Changes in weather, insect patterns, (not to mention my own learning curve) give each year its own unique fingerprint. You come to the game knowing that whatever happened last year is just that…Last year. This one’s a new one…so pay attention. Be present.

            Year one came with no frame of reference for me, so anything that grew was exciting. My tomatoes were lame; my corn never grew. (Only later did I discover that no one else’s corn did either, but first time out you take everything personally.) I’m sure I ate bugs as I was adamant not to dust. Rabbits ate my sweet potato leaves; deer ate my okra. Then there was that whole big learning curve for my body.

By year two (in hopes of going organic) I brought in critters. My fertilizer of choice: pygmy goats, which means Pyrs, to protect said pygmies.  For these—you need a fence! Little did I know that fencing dogs NEXT to a garden, would net you two benefits. 1) It keeps goats safe; 2) it keeps varmints away~ (I’d love to tell you I planned this. I did not. Who knew that dogs that bark all night would help your deer and rabbit problem. This was an unintentional consequence and one mighty fine benefit, as by year two I had corn as high as an elephant’s eye and not one bunny chewing on my tater leaves! (This likewise benefitted my watermelon and zucchini, big time.)

So far, year three’s looking good. I’ve lost pumpkin to some kind of rot, but otherwise, my tomatoes look promising, my peppers are sprouting and my cucumbers are blooming out of control (probably because I planted them too close together, which just means I’ll have to pick them every single day). I boldly decided to branched into new breeds of watermelon (smaller ones; as I can't stand wasting anything. I’ll report back.) I’ve tried peas this time…and beets! Rather than run my pole beans up my corn stalks, I’ve separated them out, opting for bush beans only. (The difference in pole beans and bush beans being one grows up a pole and the other grows in a bush. Amazing, huh? I honestly did not know this till last year. I thought Bush beans came from the family with the talking dog.)

Bottom line: each year is different. Each season varies. The weather alone is changing significantly, which affects insects, animal challenges, etc. While you can build on what you learn, you can’t predict the hand you’ll be dealt, so truly, the name of the game is awareness, and being fully present…For this gift alone (as if the food weren’t reward enough) I shall forever have my garden to thank.