Part of a mindful approach to food means preparing as much as possible from scratch, and you can’t get more ‘from scratch’ than growing it yourself. And when I say ‘yourself’, in my case I actually mean the mm man, because I have a total brown thumb. One of the silver linings of the pandemic (because we are all searching for them right?….) has been the massive uptick in folks beginning to garden. Perhaps they want greater control over their food system, maybe they want to save a little grocery cash, or maybe we are all just grasping for new hobbies and something to do. Either way, I am thrilled to see more people with pots, planters, raised beds and plots in their yards.
I asked the mm man for a bit of gardening advice that newbies or seasoned pros could benefit from:
1. Plan
Likely the only time you will see the mm man using a spreadsheet. We have a list of when to plant what, and diagrams of exactly where each vegetable will go. Some plants grow better beside each other (companion growing), which is why we have carrots between rows of lettuce and beans far away. A bit of google research can help you plan this out.
2. Make your bed
No matter what kind of gardening you do, the most important element is the soil, so take the time to till, add new compost and re-pot your urns before you add your plants.
3. Share your wares
Connect with other families who have a garden and share what you grow. We don’t grow zucchini (we don’t like how much space it takes) but our friends do and they are happy to trade us some for the stockpile of kale we harvest! While it may be fun to grow 26 different things (and we’ve done that) it’s not particularly efficient.
4. Experiment and don’t be afraid to make mistakes
This year we planted earlier than any other year (mostly because we had NOTHING else to do). This means we are already eating greens, but two tomato plants bit the dust after the cold snap on the weekend. We ripped those tomatoes out and will plant something else in their place. No biggie. We have also had years where plants with long growing seasons (squash) yielded us one lonely butternut. It was a bummer – but also the best-tasting squash we’ve ever had.
5. Mediate
The mm man is happiest in the garden. Watching the sun. working the soil and seeing something he started from a seed grow into life. It’s a reflective place for him – and I think the real reason why he keeps doing it.
Do you plant a garden? What do you grow? You know I love hearing from you.
xo mm
