Michelle Mersy, C.P.C. is the mother of two wonderful children (who don’t really despise eggplant), and a certified Life and Parenting Coach. Connect with her on Facebook, or call/text her at: 989-397-8386. www.MichelleMersy.com.
Ok, I admit, that these things happen more often than not. I come up with a grand scheme, some big idea in my head, and once I start it I have to follow through with it. This time it was something pretty big. Yet, for reasons that may remain a mystery, forever unknown, I decided to have a large chunk of our yard tilled last fall in order to plan a garden the following year. That is to say, THIS year.
Now, in order to understand why this is a big deal, you must know that…
(a) I have rarely been able to keep an indoor plant alive more than a few weeks. Couple of months, max. (If it’s not screaming in my face, how do I know it needs something?)
(b) Outdoor hanging baskets on my front porch get watered once a week. (“Oh, look, the little potted flower is almost dead. Three gallons of water ought to make up for things, and then leave it with some extra for later.”)
(c) Up until this point my idea of keeping a garden was to plant perennial flowers and veggies/fruits in boxes and turn on the sprinkler when I think of it, sometimes for hours on end and then going for weeks in between, hoping they are still alive when it’s time for them to grow again next year.
Let’s just say, my plant-caretaking life can be summed up in the words of comic Natalie Dee: “It’s a good thing I’m better at taking care of kids than plants, or I would have had Child Protective Services called on me about 8000 times by now.”
Maybe it was the thought of rows of jars lining my cupboard with my very own handwriting on the side label instead of the oh-so impersonal cans we currently buy at the store. Of bringing food to people I know would like that eggplant I decided to grow but secretly despise. The sad knowledge that our community garden became displaced and we would’ve had to take a year off from growing together with friends. Or maybe it was the memory of pointing out to my little niece years ago that the broccoli florets are actually just little buds that turn into yellow flowers if you don’t pick them in time, and her eyes getting so big as she ran off to tell the next person about her newfound knowledge of how broccoli really is a flower.
At any rate, yes… I decided my kids and I were going to plant a garden. So when spring came around and the snow melted, I was reminded by the giant black rectangle on my side yard that compost from the fall had been spread, the lawn was tilled, and I had a biiiiig box of seeds in front of me just waiting to be planted. Eagerly waiting. Except… I myself was not eager.
Why? Or, rather, why NOT? Why not be thrilled at this opportunity to bring new life into the world? To care for it? To watch our little seedlings hatch, and grow into plants that would provide sustenance for our bodies and minds and souls? To be proud of what we have been a part of and to have so much extra we can share it with others? Or save it for winter, or make it into things? So many things to be thrilled about, and yet here I was not feeling a single zing. Not one iota of thrill.
Until.
I began to think about those things. That which drew me into the idea of a garden last year, when the work of beginning, and then maintaining, wasn’t looming over my head. That which I just described, and then some: the looks on my children’s faces when they saw the sprouts coming up, the plucking of the first fruits of labor, the excitement of the three of us making meals together from veggies that they grew themselves. Giving baskets of food to friends, canning tomatoes as a family. Okay… okay. I am a life coach, and sometimes I forget to coach myself. This time, I remembered. I remembered to think of all the benefits instead of simply the drawbacks, and to focus on that which is actually inspiring about the task ahead.
Whatever it is I’m doing around and within our home, I like to use it as an opportunity to cultivate connection. (Pun: Cultivate. Intended.) So, regardless of whether you plant a garden every year, whether you were planning on doing one for the first time this year, or if you weren’t planning on anything of the sort, but have the potential to be intrigued, here are a few thoughts and ideas to help you make it into a fun family project that can involve your kids.
— It’s never to late to start. Some plants you can purchase already sprouted from the store, and others do fine when planted later in the season. Even if it’s winter and you’re reading this, you can still have potted plants or a little herb garden indoors! To find out when different things can be planted outside, reference a gardener’s manual, ask someone at your local greenhouse. (Or get in touch with me… really! I have several expert gardening buddies.)
— Let the kids go to the store or look through the catalog and pick out seeds with you. It’s not a requirement but it helps them to feel involved in the process from beginning to end.
— There are many intricate ways of going about the planting of a garden, but it doesn’t have to be complicated if you want to keep it simple. Read the seed packet. Plant a row. Cover the seeds and water them. Let them come up, pull out the weeds that aren’t supposed to be there. Eventually, you will have food. It’s pretty nifty.
— Remember that the point is to connect with your kids (not to correct your kids), and to have fun! Being repeatedly redirected takes away from the joy of doing things. It’s perfectly okay to steer things in a certain direction, but try to go into the planting with the thought that it’s more important to have a relaxed, exploratory experience than for things to be perfect. After all, Mother Nature does do pretty well on her own without our help in getting the seeds exactly 1” into the ground, as specified on the packaging! So if seeds & rows aren’t spaced the exact amount of inches as directed, don’t sweat it. Things will grow anyway.
— Choose fun & interesting vegetables and fruits. My kids and I are growing popcorn in our garden this year, and if it’s successful we will have many a movie night indulging on the fruits of our labor!
My girls love to pick snow peas and eat them straight off the vines. Ok, so my children happen to love veggies… but even the neighbor kids – who give me very suspicious looks when I try to feed them green peppers – love to help us harvest our strawberries in late spring before the birds can eat them all. And I’d be willing to bet that, even if they hate broccoli, your kids are going to think it’s kinda cool how that little floret comes right out of the middle of the plant, and blooms into little yellow flowers if you don’t pick it in time.
That is, if you remember to water it if Mother Nature doesn’t do so enough, and don’t do too much if Mother Nature is doing just the right amount…. Unlike what I’ve been doing. Good thing that the rain and the seeds and the plants and the earth are so very forgiving. Movie night… here we come. Fingers crossed.