Lessons from My Vegetable Garden

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted! Between working non-stop and fighting a cold, I could barely get in the garden long enough to water my plants. When I finally recovered, my little vegetable garden was a sad sight. My broccoli seeds had never sprouted. ALL my carrot seedlings had shriveled up and died because I missed a few days of watering them. My block of lettuce seeds looked like they had either been dug up, washed away, or both. The cabbageworms, which I thought I had under control, had multiplied and skeletonized my newest cauliflower transplant. To make matters worse, the cabbageworms managed to do that much damage while still being so tiny that I could barely see them with the naked eye.

New additions to my fall garden:
radishes and spinach

After my mourning period was over, I got to work. I broke out my environmentally-friendly pesticides and killed all the cabbageworms. I realized I still had plenty of time to replant the veggies that didn't make it (and plenty of seeds left in the packets), so I replanted my block of carrots and added to my sad little block of salad greens. While I was at it, I pulled out the okra (it only produced one single, solitary okra in the last 6 months) and planted radishes. Where the broccoli didn't sprout, I sowed spinach. The broccoli was kind of an experiment anyway: I had read it grows better from transplants than directly from seed. I'll try sowing some indoors in the next week and transplanting it outside later on.

Butterflies and moths love my hot pink zinnias.

One thing in my vegetable garden that seems quite happy right now is my zinnia. I planted it so I could enjoy the cut flowers inside, but it's also been a welcome bright spot among the veggies. I particularly enjoyed watching the butterflies on it while I worked in the garden this week.

Gardening is filled with life lessons. I admit it: when I first saw my dead carrots, disappearing lettuce, and chewed-up cauliflower plants, I wanted to give up altogether on my fall vegetable garden. I don't take failure well, and sometimes it's easier to give up than to try again. But life is full of setbacks. Things don't always go like I plan. Sometimes the pests are determined to destroy all my hard work. But in life, as in gardening, sometimes the best way to learn is through trial and error. After all, I started this blog one year ago just for that purpose: so I could keep track of what I did in my garden and learn from my successes AND failures. If I hadn't tried planting my first fall vegetable garden, I wouldn't have learned the dangers of cabbageworms, the necessity of daily watering in the fall, or that broccoli seeds need to be started inside. And if I hadn't tried again, I wouldn't have sat beside my vegetable garden long enough to watch the butterflies dance among the zinnias. Maybe God lets us experience setbacks so we will learn and grow, or maybe just so we'll slow down long enough to appreciate the little things.

So, if you think you have a "brown thumb," just remember: 1) even experienced gardeners lose a crop sometimes, 2) gardening and life are all about trial and error, and 3) celebrate the little moments of beauty that make it all worth it.

Happy gardening!