The Glory of Gardening
by Craig Lore
There are no gardening mistakes , only experiments . — Janet Kilburn Phillips
Last spring , during shelter-in-place , we weren ’ t going to the supermarket , produce was scarce and high-priced , so many turned to growing their own produce . Vegetable gardening became so popular that plants , seeds , and tools were in short supply . Most seed companies have ramped up production for 2021 , but to garden this year , act now to get supplies .
“ There ’ s so much value in being outside , even for just a little while ,” said Michelle Lieberman , owner of the CSA , One Acre Farm ( 1 ) in Morgan Hill . “ We spend so much time running around without taking the opportunity of just sitting still and observing what ’ s going on day-by-day , year-by-year , in one place , it ’ s not replicable . And a garden is a good motivator to get out there and pay attention to what ’ s going on . It ’ s such an incredible learning opportunity to understand how we fit into this ecosystem within our own backyard , and that includes everything , the plants that you ’ re growing , the birds that are going to come to your area and the insects , and the bees , and the weather .”
The pursuit of mastery in vegetable gardening is a lifelong journey . But starting on that path is quite easy , and fairly simple : soil , plants , water , sun . The combinations , of course , are limitless , but the road to mastery begins with that a first step and the steps that follow .
Getting Started
• Location — beds , containers
• Plan
• Soil
• Plants
• Irrigation
• Pest control
Location : a patch of ground , containers , raised beds
• Locate the sunniest spot in the yard . Semishaded can work too . It ’ s worth a try .
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