Reaping What You Sow?

It is hard to believe the age old adage that one reaps what one sows. So much is happening that is unpredictable, unexpected, negative and out of one's control, that it is hard to manage outcomes from beginning to start. 

That is how it felt  at my Stony Kill Farm Plot in my second year of cultivating and hoping that tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers and a variety of herbs and flowers would thrive.

It felt like our summer weather was a bit of a microcosm for our whole country: drought, extreme heat, and flooding rains. It seemed hard and time consuming to manage the modest crop and most of what was planted seemed to have a mind of its own. Yellow squash, nope. Cucumbers, not at all. Lavender, abundant growth. Oregano and thyme, gone wild and too hard to tame. And of course, the humble sunflowers, miraculously holding their own. Weeds of all types, yippee!!

Maybe that is why it is a good hobby as one ages to get involved with gardening of all kinds and to get one's hands into the soil. (Remember never to call it dirt; soil is organic and dirt is inorganic.) You quickly sense that what you try to control may not be in your control at all. But acquiescing to random events is not taking the control that you can take. You can fertilize, water, prune, weed, add compost, test the soil's pH, or start over with new seeds or perennials on sale halfway through the summer season. And when all else fails, you can learn to accept.

Whatever one does, don't give up. Endurance, persistence, patience, perseverance and some grit are both the process inherent in gardening and the personal gains and potential outcomes.

Food for thought: It's time to take stock as we prepare for a questionable harvest. Whether the fruits of one's labor have been abundant or not, much was gained from the time spent with nature. She is always a good teacher and has shown us that she still has the upper hand.