So much I want to share with you and so little time to get the writing of it done!
Little by little I’m recovering from the numerous things I’ve needed to recover from, but still have not gained all my strength back yet.
You would get such a laugh if you could see me come in from outside, and after eating, sit down with the computer to write to you — only to wake up hours later – computer still on my lap.
So before that possibly happens tonight I want to get this short tip written.
A bit of background to bring you current:
I won’t go into detail about the invasive root problem that took over my garden last July when I was on the floor recovering from an injury.
Trying to explain that previously — I did a poor job. Received several emails telling me that what I explained sounded just like the roots they had.
That was a sure guarantee that I missed the mark in explaining my situation.
Bottom line to bring you current — my garden for a while could have been termed a disaster area.
Planting season in prior years
Long-time readers know that usually all I need do to plant is go out and pull some mulch back and plant. It’s not quite that simple this year.
Although, I must say —even with all the disruption that took place — if I didn’t have trouble moving about because of injuries — it would still be a piece of cake compared to the tasks conventional gardeners go through to garden. (Things like tilling, fertilizing and watering are not necessary if you use my 3 keys)
Research shows that to have “the best yields in the world” one needs only 20 inches of rain per year. So if you get less than that you may need to water. For more details see this post.
What I spent 4 hours doing in the garden today that made this tip come to mind.
Today was spent deciding what places would easily take transplants.
Thought this would be a good time to offer this idea in case you ever get into a position where because of an injury you’re slow as molasses and/or your garden overall is not ready to plant as you originally planned.
This first recommendation will make sure there are almost always some spots that are ready for planting even if the garden has had major disruptions.
*Prepare NOW
Prepare your garden now with permanent in ground beds and paths. Follow my instructions for best results.
Go to the home page https://tendingmygarden.com/ and scroll down till you see a block entitled Organic Gardening – Follow my 3 Keys To Successful Gardening.
You’ll see the links to posts that give you the know-how to prepare your garden for almost instant success.
Assuming you’ve prepared your garden (only this one time) for a life time of gardening you’ll be able to find spots to plant even in some of the worse of cicumstances.
*Keep your soil covered.
*Don’t waste your weeds or any other organic materials in your garden.
Here are 3 more posts that are worth reviewing for more details::
https://tendingmygarden.com/mulching-weeds-annuals-crop-residue-to-the-rescue/
https://tendingmygarden.com/garden-weeds-and-refuse-using-them-to-benefit-your-garden/
https://tendingmygarden.com/what-are-you-doing-with-finished-plants/
Stay Focused – Planting Time Goes Quickly
If you’re slow – and planting time is quickly flying by — pay no attention to all the other things that need doing. Concentrate on spots that look as if they can easily be planted.
(It’s easy to get distracted from the task at hand. At least, I find that to be so.)
Spots can be small. Sometimes maybe even a foot square. You may not have entire rows available.
Several days back I planted what amounted to about 1/3 row with red cabbage. Earlier I had planted a section close by with some onions.
I spent the four hours (I still move slowly) in the garden looking for spots here and there to put in several cabbages, arugula, remaining spinach seedlings and a few early tomatoes.
Final Thoughts
I remember being so discourage in the fall that I was not able to plant all my garlic. Wanted at least 100 plants. Had to MAKE MYSELF plant what I could. That amounted to only about 24 plants. Those plants look great now. And they beat the pants off having none!
Life presents numerous times that we can’t always do things as we’d like to do or normally do. When we can’t do what we want or what we normally do — we have to do what we CAN.
The nice thing about this is – when all is said and done we have something rather than nothing.
Hope this will help you at a time when for one reason or the other you can’t do as you normally would. I know how you feel and will be thinking of you as I continue to make myself do what I can.
_________
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Always good to see your posts. Gardening has changed for me and many others. Partly because of age and certainly Climate Change particularly the past 2 or 3 years. I’m starting seeds as I always have and just dealing with what the weather brings. I usually harden plants on a shelf outdoors with row cover over them. Weather just too cold and wet to do anything until now. Ground too wet to transplant so they stay on the shelf. Last year wild turkeys ate the tops off all my peppers for the first time. This year they stay in the bush. Deer and rabbits are no longer an issue. I suggest just doing what you always have and deal with what comes along and be Happy
Thanks
Ray Kent
Dear Theresa,
You give very good and important points. We live in the city with not much land where rain comes only 2-3 months per year. One day my husband said we need a raised bed. It’s now always a sure place that I can count on to plant vegys. He made another one and now, another great place to plant. I can add compost to that area and know it will stay there. The beds aren’t raised much but contain everything nicely. We added drip irrigation to ensure proper watering. After those areas are planted, I look for other choice areas to tuck in other plants. For me, it makes gardening easier and more rewarding.
Necessity is the mother of invention. I also was slowed down last year with little energy and a bad knee, also. Usually I would go out for a few hours on nice spring days to pull back the mulch, pull weeds and then since the mulch had pretty much broken down, spread new hay mulch. I would do a bed at a time over a few weeks and then everything was ready for transplanting or direct planting. Last year I barely got through one bed. I was tempted to give up when I had a brainstorm. Set the mower on the lowest it would go and mowed the weeds down to the dirt (in some spots, below), then mulched. My chickens, who usually got buckets of weeds, got the mower clippings instead. Planted through the mulch and everything came out great. From now on, this is the way to go for me unless I find something better. I will miss the relaxation of sitting in the spring air pulling weeds, but with my bad knee and lower energy, those days are gone and I’ll find another way to relax.
Thanks so much for this encouragement, Theresa. It’s so easy to let oneself get overwhelmed and just do nothing. I very much appreciate this advice regarding gardening, but ESPECIALLY appreciate that this is really a life lesson in disguise. (Yet another fitting facet to the gardening-as-life allegory.)
I have forwarded this post to my college-student daughter as a nugget of wisdom for life, by the way…just wish I had understood this when I was her age. 🙂
Great timing of your post; I’m in the same boat! I appreciate the reminder links.
A wonderful reminder of an important life principle. Seems I need to be reminded about this constantly. Thank you.
Theresa, it’s very good to hear that you’re getting back your energies little by little!
Thank you for the post with advice that seems to arrive exactly when I need it 🙂
Hi Theresa,
Creeping Charlie and bindweed show no signs of slowing down so I just manage their presence the best I can. Cold war in the back yard.
Mike
Glad to hear you are on the mend. As we age, everything seems to move slower except time. It has been wet here, so weeds pull out easily. We have two sets of onions, two rows of beets, and peas, so far. Potatoes are coming in well, too. All of the starts are doing well and will be ready to plant in a couple of weeks.
Dandelions are prolific this year for some reason.
I’ve been frustrated at my rental for years since there isn’t really any good place to put in a garden bed. Even the lawn is just weeds. This winter I had a realization that seems obvious and I wonder why I didn’t before: I can just plant in containers on my deck. I’ve had poor luck with containers in the past (especially in the dry heat of summer here they tend to just dry out very badly, even large ones) so I am working up an irrigation system on a timer to keep things happy. Was struggling with anemia over the winter and everything seemed incredibly overwhelming, even setting up just a few buckets, but I went ahead and ordered seeds and supplies, and this spring with my anemia being increasingly well treated I’m able to get most things done in some kind of timely fashion, which is nice. Having a garden again makes me happy even if it’s a dozen buckets and a couple fancy towers on my back deck! Even if I don’t get food it’s a win, but I hope I do. 🙂
Meant to say in the last message: I relate to sitting down for a minute only to wake up an hour, sometimes two or three later. Had a lot of that over the winter. Taking plenty of iron now and feel better than I have in over a year, so I’m hopeful that I can recover some of the condition I lost when I had no energy at all over the past 9-10 months.
Anna, I’m so happy for you that you will be growing something even if in pots.
Best of luck to you for an abundant harvest.
And if you ever decide to give a small in ground garden a go — the soil with weeds can be turned to best soil ever. Lots of info on TMG about that.
Theresa
Thank you for this post! I recently had a major surgery, followed by complications, then repair for the surgery, then again another minor surgery. This spring, I was beating myself up for what I was unable to do in my garden, forgetting how bad the pain actually was last year. My partner reminded me that I was recovering from surgery for months and yet was still able to get some vegetables from the garden and this year I am feeling WAY better and am thankful that I did have the surgery as I am no longer in pain. No need to beat myself up and I will continue to do what I can. Also prepare for if anything ever happens in the future!
Stephanie, I’m so happy you are free of pain and are recovering from your surgeries!
I was absolutely delighted that you found this post helpful.
Glad your partner reminded you of what you’ve been through and that you still managed to get some vegetables from the garden! An excellent accomplishment!!
And definitely — DO NOT beat yourself up. I tend to do that as well and have to constantly remind myself about what I HAVE accomplished.
You will be my example as I deal with the various
current problems this season. I’ll be thinking of you as I do what I can in my garden this year.
Hope you’ll keep me updated as the season goes on.
Sending you lots of good healing energy!
Theresa