A Guide to Sisyphean Gardening

A bit of help from the little ones

Spinach, beans and tomatoes are the only things I’ve really had any success growing. By success, I mean that I have eeked out enough of these for maybe a single meal's supplement each season. I've tried corn, blackberries, peppers, onions, potatoes and countless other fruits and vegetables. I am the guy who strides into my local box store, making the sales person's year in equipment, compost and seed/plant purchases in a single, early season visit.

I suck at gardening.

It is ok. I have accepted it. My family has accepted it. Every year, they watch me head out enthusiastic into the garden, making another run at it. This year is no different. I do so convinced that with each season, I learn a little more. Like a 49er, I am out there each year, pursuing that magical moment where I strike it rich.

Last years lessons, I think, were not to plant so late and not to overuse of eko compost, which I thought would be better in percentage to actual dirt (only after I applied - lets just say, uh, "a bit" did I realize you are only supposed to lay down an inch… ). So building on last year, this year’s focus include: 

1. starting earlier, 
2. actually following the directions for eko compost, and 
3. mixing in a heavy amount of homemade compost we’ve been working for the last year.

Garden Planner was definitely better than the stare, guess and act method I had been using

And, while last year's season's secret weapon had been the eko compost, in searching for this year's silver bullet, I stumbled across the Farmer's Almanac's Garden Planner. Gotta admit, it is already a confidence-builder for this tragically un-talented gardner. While the season's product will tell if it worked, it has already helped me learn a lot more about the planning and logistics of gardening. 

Some early pro/con analysis on the Garden Planner:

Pros

• 30 day free trial
• Easily design and customize to your garden
• Localize to your nearest weather station (beats guessing on the average last freeze date)
• Includes calculation method for the exact number of plants and time to sow/harvest

Cons

• Needs a better “don’t plant this stuff together” - For this, I used companion planting guide from mother earth news
• Dirt knowledge - Am sure there is a technical term for this, but given my experience, the tool lacks, or at least isn’t apparent, basic info on dirt. Some info on mix of compost, dirt, etc, would be helpful
• Fertilizer - C'mon, I will even fall for the placed advertisement. Some additional info on recommendations for fertilizer or other Gardner's helpers would be a nice addition. This is still largely a mystery to me.

So there are times to plant? Makes sense in hindsight...

But, the garden is prepped. I had some sympathetic help from the little ones. Am ready for April to get started!

I do have this part down... Putting waste in a bucket and letting it sit? Aces.