success

17 Aug 2010 No Comments

The Sweetest Success

Comes after failure.  In my life, failure seems to be an integral part of the process.  Take my sprouts.  Just look at these pumpkins!  Not literally speaking, you understand, but what adorable, beautiful, brilliant works of art.  To the average eye, I realize they’re simply another tray of seedlings, but to me, they’re an amazing success story. 

This past spring, I worked so hard to get my tomato sprouts to sprout, to flourish, but to avail.  I watered, I waited.  Didn’t feed as much as I should have, but thought my organic dirt was sufficient.  It wasn’t.  None of my sprouts made it.  But I learned my lesson.  Because I failed, I learned the value of early fish emulsion, painstaking attention to moisture and the finicky nature of the seeds themselves…

It’s all part of the process!  For instance, my first batch of tomatoes took 2 weeks to begin shooting sprouts.  My second batch?  A week!  My first round of peppers set off without delay, my current round of peppers seem a bit slow.  Why?

Dont’ know.  Conditions, seed quality…  What I do know, is that with every failure, I become a better gardener.  With every loss, each success grows my joy, tenfold.

Much like in life.  Persistence is everything.  Whatever happens, take responsibility.   Re-frame your perspective.  Insead of failure, think in terms of results.   “You failed?” they may ask.

No.  I simply haven’t succeeded yet.  It’s only a matter of time.  And effort. 

Desire.  Will.  You’ll never achieve abiding success without commitment.   This premise holds true in every facet of my life — if I let it.  Knowing when to let go is important.  Knowing when to change direction is a talent gained best by experience. 

Every season my garden improves.  I learn by doing, I enjoy the process.  And I don’t sweat the mishaps.  Swing with emotion over mishaps — yes — but I don’t sweat them. 

So next time you’re experiencing a setback, remember, this too shall pass.  The real question is where will you be standing when it does?

by gardenfrisk in Savory vignettes - tidbits of life discovered along the way Tags: , , , , , , , ,

08 Mar 2010 2 Comments

We have sprouts!!!

It’s working!  Yahoo!  And what a thrill.

Discovering your first sprouts is a great day – especially for the boys. 

“Look mom!  There’s a potato!  And there’s another one! “

Wow.  They really are growing.  While it was exciting last week with the addition of transplants, the added greenery a major boost to morale during the throes of winter (oh, waah – as if Floridians actually knew anything about winter) but now we have proof positive Mandie has a green thumb!

Could be a simple example of Mother Nature doing her thing, but I’m willing to go with the green thumb imagery. 

Not only the potatoes are rearing up, but the carrots are sprouting and so are the conch peas!  Cute little things, they look more like “bird” peas, don’t they?

Either way, we’ve got action – and lots of it.  Why, look at these sprouts – they’re everywhere!   These baby carrots may seem more like baby hair, but they are THRILLING nonetheless.   Like having your first baby.   Sure, it’s red and screaming and covered in awful slime but to you, it’s the most beautiful creature in the world.

You see it now, don’t you?  Yes.  I see your smile.  You see it, too.

But of course, as the earth spins, with every upward tick comes a downward tick.   We have daylight, we have night.  

Yes, you guessed it.   Blemishes.   Bugs.   While admiring all the new sproutlings, eagle eye Mandie spotted a tiny black bug.  Her eyes are better than mine.  

Argh!  Infestation.  Panic.   She turned to me, whom she has affectionately dubbed master, and asked, “What do we do now, Master?”

I smiled.  (Not only because I like being called master, but because this is where the reality of organic gardening hits.)  You get him. 

She balked.  “What do you mean?” 

“I mean, you grab him, get him, pinch him – whatever you need to do to remove the dastardly invader from your garden — without using any awful pesticides.”

She promptly obliged.  

You have to hand it to her, the girl’s a quick study! 

I then mentioned the use of insecticidal soap, an environmentally friendly spray for her plants, touting it was a somewhat easier method of beast removal.   She whipped her head around to her husband.  “Gary, while you’re at the store, grab some of this stuff, will ya?”

Wonderful husband that he is, he agreed without protest.  (Boy, do I love husbands.  They really do make gardening easier.)

After a final inspection, we decided everything was good, perfect, save for the tomatoes.  These pups proved a bit peaked after the close call with the mercury last week, but I think they’ll make it.  Fish emulsion will do wonders for them, along with a well planned fertilizer program.

 

Mandie paled.   Fish emulsion.   “I forgot to pick up the fish emulsion!”  (You remember, this is the busy gal — a lot on her plate?  We weren’t kidding!)   “Gary, will you grab some fish emulsion why you’re out?”

He smiled.   “Sure.”   Then to me, asked, “Can you buy that at the hardware store?”

Probably.   If not, the seed and feed will have it.   Fish emulsion is a wonderful organic fertilizer.   While it won’t address all the needs of your garden, it does provide a solid foundation.

Satisfied all was in hand, he nodded.  “No problem.”

I like a calm, cool and collected guy.   Tends to mellow out my more hyper-tendencies.   Uh, make that energetic.   I’m energetic, not hyper.   I have focus.   Determination.   Why, just this weekend I relocated a rose garden to make way for my new herb garden, and planted a blueberry patch to boot! 

It is blueberry patch, right?   I asked my daughter and she assured me it was patch, not orchard.   But then again, she’s barely ten.   Help?

More on that tomorrow.  Until then, rejoice in Mandie’s success!

by gardenfrisk in Garden coaching - watch how easy you TOO can have your very own garden! Tags: , , , , , , ,