The Chaos of the First Spring
Start a garden from scratch? I’ve done that several times.
Start a quarter acre garden from scratch on unbroken ground? You got me there.
It’s proven to be more work than I anticipated. But isn’t that how it always goes?
In between the day job, family obligations, extracurricular activities, we’re running the tiller, mowing the grass (which is exploding right now with the rain/sun cycle that has been going for weeks now), watering the plant starts, gathering compost, fertilizers, and other amendments, building a greenhouse, and the list goes on…and that’s related to the gardening.
What am I getting at? This first year, I hope, will be the hardest. We’re getting to know the soil, establishing processes and infrastructure, and doing everything here for the first time. I’ve already settled in my mind that this garden might be completely unsuccessful. If it is, I have no doubt there will be many lessons learned.
What I have I learned already?
Starting seeds requires more consistency and commitment than I can currently allocate. I’ve only done a few trays of flowers, veggies, and herbs. I’ve got the process down, but didn’t have a good set-up in place to make it easier on myself, so I put it off. Lesson learned: utilize the soon-to-be finished greenhouse or the shop for starting next year’s seeds. My hope is to sell many excess plan starts next year.
It’s hard to see on camera, but our entire property is sloped, and the garden is no exception. From the perspective of getting plants enough sunlight, the south facing slope could not be more perfect. From the perspective of physically moving equipment and supplies back and forth, it’s certainly good exersice. The lesson: install more gates around the fencing to increase accessibility and make moving around more efficient.
These aren’t complaints – just observations. I cannot express enough how fun, challenging, and engaging gardening is. I only have strawberries and blueberries in the ground at this point. There is still so much left to do, but we’re loving every second of it.
We hope your gardens are off to a good start and will be bountiful at harvest time.
