If you are one of those people whose garden is lush, green and overflowing with goodness, these chronicles are not for you. If you’re currently eating a salad made from fresh greens picked straight from your yard, or Sunday chicken seasoned with your own rosemary, thyme and dill, take a seat – I’m not writing for you.
This one is for all who have the “black thumb”; my people who have tried and tried again and only have empty pots and withered dreams (and plants) to show for it; my comrades with good intentions and disastrous results when it comes to gardening. I’m doing this for you. We are going to break the cycle. We are going to reap the results of something we have grown.
So put on your gardening gloves and get ready to take this journey with me. I’m not saying it will be easy, and I’m sure we’ll have some bumps along the way, but what I learn, you learn. When I figure out the mistakes I’ve been making, you might too. Are you ready? Let’s do this, then.
My story
I’ve been killing plants since the 1980s. Like the cactus I had when I was eight. A sure thing I was told. These suckers survive in the desert they said. You can’t possibly mess up a cactus. Well I did. And so began a long history of disappointments and shame.
I never stopped trying though. My yard is littered with empty pots and dried up plants, each telling their own story of the hope you feel when you come home armed with a bunch of seedlings, new pots and fresh earth; and the dejection that sets in when you notice your plants aren’t doing too well, or that the one sweet pepper you’ve managed to grow never gets bigger than half your thumb, or that your basil is somehow a sickly yellow instead of the vibrant green you’ve seen in your in-law’s garden.
Many have tried to help me, but none have succeeded. I remember the month my neighbour stepped in. He gave me a piece of broadleaf thyme.
“Take this,” he said. “It grows anywhere.” Imagine my horror when I had to go back to him and give him the news that the broadleaf thyme, despite my best efforts, had gone to meet its maker.
“You’re serious?” he said. “Let me show you something.” He took me around to the back of his house and pointed at a bucket. “The same day I gave you that piece, I threw another piece in this bucket and hardly looked at it,” he said.
The bucket was overflowing with broadleaf thyme. And that has been my story for years.
Until now (I hope).
Enter Malaica Julien, plant girl extraordinaire: my friend who is trying to encourage more Bajans to utilise whatever space they have to grow food.
She looks at your space, finds solutions and gives you tips, based on whatever you’re facing, to help your garden to thrive. She is equal parts gardening encyclopedia and boot camp instructor. She’s serious about gardening and tries to make it simple for people like me that have built up an incredibly huge wall when it comes to all things green. She has calmly dealt with my neuroses, soothed my panic at the thought of killing yet another batch of plants and made me feel that, with a little guidance, I can actually do this!
We set up last weekend and this is some of what I’ve learned.
Work on proper drainage.
By show of hands, how many people, when setting up pots, sprinkle a little gravel in the bottom of the pot? You? I do too, literally a handful, like a “I can use them to help a child learn to count to ten” handful. Well, guess what. That is not enough. Malaica advised me to fill the pots up a 1/4 to a 1/3 way with gravel before I add anything else. Already I feel like I am making some changes that will help me succeed.
Make sure you have the right mix.
Plants do better when the medium used for growing is aerated. After the gravel we added a layer of a high drainage mixture she provided but if you don’t have that you can use a mixture of half potting mix/half Perlite or sand. For non-water-loving herbs you can use that mixture to the top. For water-loving plants, add a layer of potting mix. Usually when I fill pots I try to pat everything down to make it compact and neat. Don’t do this! You want it nice and loose. Malaica actually had to prompt me to stop patting a few times. I’m an excessive patter – who knew?
Use the triangular method.
I used eight-inch round pots and we potted three plants in each in a triangle shape. Note to all my BTs (black thumbs); you don’t have to dig too deep to plant your seedling, nor do you have to rip and spread the roots apart first before you put them in the soil. Just dig a hole deep enough for the dirt to just cover the top, put the plant in place and lightly cover it. To start, I’ve planted lettuce, Swiss chard, dill, collard greens and coriander. (I’m excited and terrified at the same time.)
Ready-done plants work also.
Woah! Life-changing moment for me. Why do non-gardeners always feel like they need to grow things from scratch? It’s like some weird rite of passage we try to go through. It honestly never occurred to me to buy
ready-done plants. Enter the second half of my new garden, the ready-done portion with thyme, chives, garlic chives, celery, chadon beni and parsley. Having fully grown plants not only makes it easier but it means I can start harvesting right away, which psychologically gives me a little boost.
Water and sunlight.
Being out in the hot sun gives me a headache and somehow I’ve transferred this philosophy to where I place my plants. I would always give them plenty of shade. “Wrong,” Malaica said. The majority of plants thrive with a lot of sunlight. Put them somewhere where they get plenty of sun. As for water, for the size pots I have, two cups of water, per pot, per day, is recommended. And forget placing them in saucers, just let them drain naturally. If they are on a table or in a patio, like my herb garden is, place them on top of some newspaper to catch the water as it drains out. Malaica advised that you also check the soil. If it’s dried out and the plants look wilted despite your watering, give some more water. If you’ve had some rain and the soil is moist and the plants look perky, less water is required.
Were you guilty of any of the things I’ve been doing wrong? Will you try again with me? I’m doing fine so far and after a few days the plants are still alive. Here’s to eating salad made with our own garden-picked greens in the near future. See you next week. And happy growing! (NS)