I've been home, on furlough, in lockdown. I have a small garden with a bit of space where I could potentially grow some vegetables, herbs, or at least flowers, and I even bought myself some seeds (about 5 years ago, I'm not kidding, I checked) but never actually took the time to do it. There was always something else that took priority.
How did it start?
I wasn't planning on growing any vegetables or herbs, but one day, my best friend (and housemate) discovered somewhere in the darkness of her cupboard some potatoes which had started sprouting. Neither of us wanted to throw them away as we both hate wasting food, so I decided to give it a go and try and dig up the garden. Luckily for me, I already have most of the tools I need in the shed and I've sown vegetables before so all I had to worry about was my desire to continue with this new project.
Long story short, they now look like this:
For the first few weeks, I had to put an alarm to remind myself to water them but I'm now used to my little routine of checking on them to see if everything is going well.
I had to continue
I've started this, I'm getting good results, it definitely makes me happy being out in the garden, so why not continue and take advantage of the momentum? I got out of the house for my bi-monthly food shop(I'm not a big fan of getting out of the house these days) and I took a little detour to get a few seeds to plant next to my little potatoes. Did I get too excited and did I buy enough seeds for a garden 10 times the size of what I actually have? You bet!
I spent pretty much all day yesterday digging up the garden and sowing cucumbers, carrots, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, cauliflower, cabbage, radishes and spring onions. I didn't have enough space there so I put some dill, parsley and basil seeds in separate pots and tagged everything accordingly. If it all goes well I will have enough to make a decent salad and a side or two of chips. The only downside to all this is that I can't grow salad dressing in my garden as well, but oh well...
Digging up the garden is a very intense workout but it's a one-time thing (well... yearly, but you know what I mean) and tending to the veggies is nothing to worry about. Once you go past the first stage, everything else is pleasant. If you have the space and tools, all you need is to dedicate a few hours and you'll have results quite soon.
You can see above the 'before' picture and in a few weeks' time, I'm hoping to show you the 'after' one as well.
It's funny how happy it makes me feel to see them grow. It's a warm fuzzy feeling and if you have time (and patience) maybe you should try it. I think it's worth it. It's not all about the fruit and veggies themselves (although that is a major bonus), it's also about dedicating your time to a project which you can (literally) see grow in front of your eyes, day by day, it's about spending time outside, enjoying some fresh air even when you don't feel like walking all the way to the park and it's a reminder that YOU can make things happen.
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I hope life is treating you well.
Take care