Do you garden? Is it for food, fun or just a chore?
I know some people find it relaxing and enjoy growing their own vegetables, etc. I just can't see it as anything but a chore...guess I'm missing the green thumb gene. My best friend told me once if my plants had legs they would run away from home. Do you actually enjoy gardening? Why?? Do you grow food or flowers? Or do you just keep the weeds short to avoid angering the neighbors?
by
ohcheri
asked 9 months ago
i keep a few plants in containers around my porch, roma and regular tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, and a few jalepenos - i'm just cheap and hate paying grocery store prices when i can get 'em for free! at least part of the year anyhow - tried the big garden last year and decided never again - what a pain in the foot! whoever decided it was fun should be clobbered!
We bought a Topsy Turvy, some pots, soil, green onion seeds, and a pair of tomato plants from Home Depot a few years ago...
Despite watering them every day and finding a nice place for them to get the maximum amount of sun possible, we discovered that San Francisco, a mostly cold and foggy city, was not exactly the most accommodating environment for growing tomatoes.
After a few months, we had one plant completely give up and recede back into the soil, harvested one puny, but tasty, batch of cherry tomatoes from the Topsy Turvy and very small yield of green onion which we sprinkled over a baked potato (we bought that from Wendy's).
...so yea, real gardening isn't too fun in my opinion.
I do enjoy me some Harvest Moon though.
@ohcheri: I note that many of the gardening questions that we used to have are off to the side of this, and I may copy and post them in a second comment. However...
Yes, I garden. I have a yard that's about 1/3 acre, and my house is only a small footprint on it because it's two story. I grow perhaps 25% of my food in the summer, and can some of it (and also purchase items from the local Farmer's Markets, and can even more). My yard is mixed. There is no formal vegetable garden; it's more European in that vegetables are here and there among the other plants. I like it, and it's very pretty that way.
I planted extra tomatoes this year just to be able to strip all the green ones and put up green tomato relish (one of my favorites). There's nothing like truly fresh food on the table to make a meal pleasant (and healthy).
I have roses, and trees, and any number of other plants, from perennials to annuals. I gardened before I retired, too.
Not everyone likes gardening. It makes me very happy. I can spend hours weeding, and deciding what bedding plants will be nice to have along the borders of the garden beds in the spring.
The only thing I'm really not good at is green houses, and that's because I forget there's anything in them. I've cooked plants, starved them from water, drowned them... The list is endless. I finally decided to give up on them.
There are some plants that I have that take a lot of care, but they're worth it. Mostly, if something seems more work than the reward of having it, I'll dig it up and replace it with something better.
"I've cooked plants, starved them from water, drowned them... The list is endless." -shrdlu
My oh my, so @shrdlu is like the Jigsaw Killer of plants...
Yes, yes, yes & no.
@sykotek: Only the ones I had in a green house. My garden is lovely. Still, I do have a short attention span, and am happy to pull up a plant just because I think it's been in a spot long enough.
Okay, so I am a plant killer then.
@shrdlu: I know from reading your posts in the past that you are a gardener, one of those who find gardening relaxing and rewarding. I wish I did, instead I gaze longingly at the work of others and buy my veggies from the local farmer's market :-)
@ohcheri: I'm a firm believer that (unless you're doing it to be self-sufficient, or for some other sensible reason) you ought not to be gardening just because you feel you should. I grow the things it makes sense for me to grow, and support the local growers for those things it doesn't make sense to bother with.
You should do what gives you joy, and there's no sense in pushing yourself to do something just because you feel that you should like it. It's what I grew up with. I was raised to live in the 18th century, and although I spent my professional life continually at the bleeding edge of technology, it's pleasant to let that part go, and to follow Candide's lead.
@shrdlu: i can really appreciate your passion...it's a beautiful thing...your words made more sense to me than many have on this subject ;9)
edit: i was one who did it because i thought i "should" - i live in a farm house on an old farm so it seemed to fit...well it didn't lol!
Oh ... I garden. I've got 24+ acres and at least 3 of them are gardens. Most of it goes to feeding my immediate and relative family. I also get to sell once or twice a year. This year has been a blessing too, so much rain and sunshine. In addition, our apple trees are doing the best they have in years. Can't wait to one to press em and make fresh apple cider =D ... But back to the question. I do it more for the food than the love of gardening. But I still enjoy the work to the extent that work can be enjoyable.
@shrdlu: I appreciated your rosebush advice!
I have a postage stamp orchard, a dozen or so blueberry bushes, 2 24' rows of red raspberries, and just planted 20 elderberry bushes. Why you ask? Because they all ferment. :)
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