I have a reputation with my friends as a master gardener. While I appreciate the sentiment, what I actually am is a mediocre gardener that loves fresh vegetables.
When I look at my garden, I do so with a mind to “what do I want to be growing?”, “what will help this garden produce more of what I want?”, and “where are things not working well enough?”
Although you won’t be seeing my garden on the cover of any garden magazine, I am happy to say that it is successful enough to feed our family and share with others much of the summer.
A question of alignment
My goal each year is to have a productive, healthy, and reasonably well-groomed garden (at least enough so that I can easily maneuver through it without getting entangled in vines). I want to eat well for a few months, and be able to give some away to friends, family, and food pantries. Having a garden also helps to fulfill my need to spend time outdoors and feel the sun on my face and dirt on my hands. It lets me be with nature when I can’t get out to hike or spend time farther afield.
I know what my garden needs to be successful. I add compost to the soil each spring to ensure the nutrients are ready to be taken in by the plants’ roots in the summer. I carefully place the seeds and plants at the best distance apart so they can grow strong without crowding each other out. The sprinklers and drip lines are set to provide the right amount of water to each plant regularly. I harvest the green beans often so that the bean plants can focus on nurturing the new little beans without expending more energy on those that are ready to eat.
Alignment is certainly about focusing on and nurturing the things that help move us along our true path. It takes hard work, and the rewards are very much worth it. But that is only half the story.
Misalignment creeping in
Weeds are also a part of my garden (though not part of my garden plan). They push their way in, steal water, crowd out the plants that I want to flourish, and distract from my goals.
I could leave them there, ignoring them, and keep watering the garden as normal. I will still get a reasonable harvest. But I know it will be so much better if I make the effort to remove them.
I have a few options. A solid dose of weedkiller would make them wither away quickly, although that might also kill some of the vegetable plants. More importantly, using weedkiller does not align with my desire to have an organic garden, nor with being a conscientious beekeeper.
So I resort to hand pulling. It is a labor intensive project. Yes, more hard work. Like any challenge, there are a few lessons that stand out as I look back from under the brim of my sweat stained hat.
- I can let weeds go and still get a return from my garden. The trade off is a less bountiful and healthy garden. It takes a balance of nurturing and weeding; both offense and defense; attending to contributions and obstacles to achieve the best result.
- The earlier that I pull a weed, the easier it is to remove it. Don’t wait until it is overshadowing the garden. By that point, it may be causing more harm that it did when small, and it has had time to establish itself.
- Weeds have deep roots. Sometimes it may take repeated pulling out of the same weed to keep it out for good.
- It can be very satisfying to pull out the weeds.
- Some weeds have thorns that fight back as I pull them. The wounds heal.
- Weeds are not all bad all the time. Many weeds in my garden produce flowers that our bees love to visit for pollen and nectar. Sometimes I play with the timing to let the weeds flower and then pull them out before they go to seed. That way I can get a little good out of those pesky weeds.
Check your garden
What are you trying to grow in your garden?
Do you know what it takes to achieve that growth?
Are you spending enough time tending to the weeds?
What are you ignoring that, if you spent just a little time, you would remove that misalignment and set yourself up for better growth in the future?
Happy gardening! And if you are in need of any fresh green beans this summer, just holler!
Note: If you want to read a little more on obstacles, check out my “Obstacle Illusions” post.