I’ve been planting a summer vegetable garden for a handful of years now, but I get newbie nerves every time because I realize how little I know. Every Spring I feel like a rookie again and keep wishing I could find a green-thumbed mentor to drop by weekly, because oh how I hate to learn things the hard way.
I’m realizing my garden grows so much like how I grow in life. I don’t know about yours, but my life requires strategic tending and pruning, daily watering and weed-pulling despite my desire to simply blossom on cruise-control. It really doesn’t work that way, does it? Perhaps you can relate, too?
This year, I’m planting less and more than previous years…less varieties and more of what I know the most about and can be most successful with. Maybe one day I’ll go back to more varieties again, once I’ve mastered what I have before me, but for now I’m streamlining for success.
Realizing I don’t have time in this season to learn about all the details and potential threats for so many different veggies, I’m going to practice what I preach in wellness: I’m going to “major on the majors.”
I started with a little inventory.
Hmm..
- What grew best in previous years?
- What veggies does my family eat the most of?
- What gives me the biggest return on investment of time, effort and money?
- Which gave me the biggest headaches?
- What are my strengths and limits: which should I leave to the more experienced gardeners/farmers (in other words, which should I just buy at the farmer’s market/grocery)?
The older (and hopefully wiser) I get, the more I’m doing this in other areas of life as well. With the findings of my quick assessment, I am aiming to make the most of what I have to work with, and focus on quality, not quantity.
For example, in recent years I’ve been digging deeper into existing relationships and strategically fertilizing them with time and care. Recently I’m streamlining where I volunteer and serve to areas where I can make the biggest difference, and considering my greatest potential impact in business to make the most of what I know and what strengths I’ve been given, as well as the strengths of my team.
As Andy Stanley says about professional athletes and likens it to those in leadership: “Pitchers don’t need to hit well; they need to pitch well.”
That means I said “no” to the yellow squash…and “yes” to the zucchini squash. I said “no” to the peppers and eggplant…the low volume producers that were taking up space and weren’t giving me the reward volume worth the work. I said “ yes!” again to the cucs and tomatoes and researched more carefully this time as to how deep and how far apart to plant them, and what barriers and threats to be prepared for.
Note: I still love eggplants and peppers: they are just on hold for this particular season in my garden.
In life I’m learning to live more and more strategically – spending less time wishing for what is unrealistic, honing the details of what my best yes entails, and resisting the urge to “sweat the small stuff.”
Speaking of sweating…back to my Georgia garden: I selected just 4 herb varieties and put them close to my kitchen and grill so I’m more likely to use them then I did last summer.
We made a family adventure of picking everything out at a beautiful country garden center (sorry Lowe’s!), and set up our teamwork plan.
My husband said he’d plant them and set up the daily irrigation system while I write this, if I’d do the tending all summer with the kids. I’ll continue to do the cooking, we’ll all do the harvesting and eating :), and they’ll help with the plant-pruning and meal-cleanup. Deal.
So how about you, how does your garden grow?
- What needs assessment and nurturing in your life?
- What is worthwhile and productive, and what should be let go or pruned back?
- What systems and routines can you set up (think morning irrigation and evening pruning)?
- How can you employ teamwork or delegate?
- What needs churning and fertilizing?
- What vermin and progress-choking weeds should you keep a watchful eye out for?
- How can you streamline your efforts to maximize your wellness and impact this season, even if a summer veggie garden is not on your radar?
Guess what? You don’t have to be perfect to start. (Phew! That’s good news!) If you’ve never tried a garden, start with 1 tomato plant in a deep pot in full sun where you’ll pass by it daily. Go ahead and plant basil with it. (Even if you don’t perfect gardening this summer and only end up with a few tomatoes and herbs, you’ll still likely get your money’s worth since tomatoes and fresh herbs in the store get can pretty pricey). #progressnotperfection
