Impostor gardening workshop
Feb. 11th, 2022 11:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
greenstormThe first thing is that the seeds love you. They are your relatives; you have raised each other over thousands of years.
The seeds want to grow. If they're old, or too cold, or too hot, or too dry they'll still try. They need your help.
Seeds that are grown in a place for several years get better at growing there; that's only one reason it's best to get seeds from your friends and neighbours.
It's hard for plants to handle what they aren't used to, both ancestrally and in their lifetime. Get your seeds from close by, but also, let them get a suntan before they go live in the sun. Let them get used to wind before they need to live in it.
The best seeds come with stories about what they need; if your friend gives you seeds they'll know if you need a pole to support the plant, or maybe if it should be planted in a little shade. If you have no friends there are many stories and seed-friends on the internet.
Having said all that, plants need some basic things: first water, then light, then food. Sometimes a south window works but if you can put a shop light or something over them it's better. A little fan nearby, or close to where the air moves when people walk by or a door is opened, is very good.
If you give plants what they need, but not too much of it, they'll grow big and fast. Make sure you have a home for them as they get bigger. If you plant them inside too early you may end up with plants on your counters, your table, even your sofa. Some of us like that; most don't.
Check to make sure something is a little dry before watering it. As plants get bigger they use more water.
Some plants like cool weather and don't mind a bit of a freeze; others huddle up and die at the hint of frost. In this area the cool-weather plants will be happiest but it's also fun to grow the warm-weather ones.
Grow what you or your friends like to eat, mostly. If you grow something just for the joy of it that's a kind of meal too, but you want to make sure you're also filling your plate.
There are more kinds of gardening than there are people. If you don't like some part of gardening, like weeding or watering, there are probably ways to do it less. If you ask ten people about gardening you will get twenty answers; maybe one of those answers will show you an easier or more fun way to do what you want.
Nothing works all the time. Plant some different things because sometimes one just won't work one year, and then you have backup in other things. Also look for easier-but similar plants; kale is like cabbage but easier to grow, little broccolis are easier to grow than big ones. If something is easier you're more likely to do the work required, and to have success.
Make a list of your favourite fruits and vegetables. Mark each one: shade, sun, warm, cool. Look at the spot you will grow your garden. Is it shady when the sun moves in the summer, or is it sunny? Look at weather in your area, is it mostly warm or cool? Try growing more things that fit into the category you have. It's fun to experiment with other categories but don't rely on their harvest.
Anything worth doing, is worth doing badly.
Pay attention: do the plants look happy? What made them happy? They are your best teachers.
Save your own seed when you can. The plants you grew want to live and have offspring. Help them; in return they will adapt better to your conditions.
Never forget to celebrate and share your harvest. You partner with the land to make this food and that partnership is sacred: it deserves recognition. The land gives you this harvest in exchange for a little work: it's not only for you, and you should share it with those who need it.
Any questions?
(A local Nation wants someone to lead gardening workshops. I feel like don't know enough about gardening here, but this is what I would say)
The seeds want to grow. If they're old, or too cold, or too hot, or too dry they'll still try. They need your help.
Seeds that are grown in a place for several years get better at growing there; that's only one reason it's best to get seeds from your friends and neighbours.
It's hard for plants to handle what they aren't used to, both ancestrally and in their lifetime. Get your seeds from close by, but also, let them get a suntan before they go live in the sun. Let them get used to wind before they need to live in it.
The best seeds come with stories about what they need; if your friend gives you seeds they'll know if you need a pole to support the plant, or maybe if it should be planted in a little shade. If you have no friends there are many stories and seed-friends on the internet.
Having said all that, plants need some basic things: first water, then light, then food. Sometimes a south window works but if you can put a shop light or something over them it's better. A little fan nearby, or close to where the air moves when people walk by or a door is opened, is very good.
If you give plants what they need, but not too much of it, they'll grow big and fast. Make sure you have a home for them as they get bigger. If you plant them inside too early you may end up with plants on your counters, your table, even your sofa. Some of us like that; most don't.
Check to make sure something is a little dry before watering it. As plants get bigger they use more water.
Some plants like cool weather and don't mind a bit of a freeze; others huddle up and die at the hint of frost. In this area the cool-weather plants will be happiest but it's also fun to grow the warm-weather ones.
Grow what you or your friends like to eat, mostly. If you grow something just for the joy of it that's a kind of meal too, but you want to make sure you're also filling your plate.
There are more kinds of gardening than there are people. If you don't like some part of gardening, like weeding or watering, there are probably ways to do it less. If you ask ten people about gardening you will get twenty answers; maybe one of those answers will show you an easier or more fun way to do what you want.
Nothing works all the time. Plant some different things because sometimes one just won't work one year, and then you have backup in other things. Also look for easier-but similar plants; kale is like cabbage but easier to grow, little broccolis are easier to grow than big ones. If something is easier you're more likely to do the work required, and to have success.
Make a list of your favourite fruits and vegetables. Mark each one: shade, sun, warm, cool. Look at the spot you will grow your garden. Is it shady when the sun moves in the summer, or is it sunny? Look at weather in your area, is it mostly warm or cool? Try growing more things that fit into the category you have. It's fun to experiment with other categories but don't rely on their harvest.
Anything worth doing, is worth doing badly.
Pay attention: do the plants look happy? What made them happy? They are your best teachers.
Save your own seed when you can. The plants you grew want to live and have offspring. Help them; in return they will adapt better to your conditions.
Never forget to celebrate and share your harvest. You partner with the land to make this food and that partnership is sacred: it deserves recognition. The land gives you this harvest in exchange for a little work: it's not only for you, and you should share it with those who need it.
Any questions?
(A local Nation wants someone to lead gardening workshops. I feel like don't know enough about gardening here, but this is what I would say)
no subject
Date: 2022-02-12 05:49 am (UTC)One thing that's still a mystery to me is soil. Not so much structure, but nutrients. What do plants want? How can you tell? I know that yellow on the veins might mean one thing and that yellow spots might mean a different thing, and that could be a nutrient issue (or a pathogen!) and that you can look these things up, but then how do you fix it? How much "fix" do you add at a time, and how do you avoid overshooting and poisoning the poor things?
no subject
Date: 2022-02-12 07:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-02-12 03:35 pm (UTC)Oh god, the voles. My family has *stories* about voles.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-14 07:36 pm (UTC)I didn't even bother to plant root crops last year, since the year before I didn't get a single one that wasn't at least half eaten. Moving this field this year so it's easier for birds of prey to access.
no subject
Date: 2022-03-08 02:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-03-08 06:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-02-12 01:07 pm (UTC)