What is it that I truly need? Probably some patience.

I have to wonder; will spring actually ever get here to stay? I mean, it's after Mother's Day, and in my neck of the woods, that means that all of my garden should have been in the ground within the last week or so. Sadly, that is not the case. In fact, it's far from it. Patience, it would seem, is not a virtue I possess, though.

So, depending on the zone you live in (and they even vary more now by an a or b behind the number) will determine when you are to be putting your plants and seeds in the ground. But, with the weather patterns being so unpredictable over the last few years, it's a real gamble on when to put those precious babies into the earth to be nurtured and fed.

Let's discuss zones. I shared a link last week, where you could look up your growing zone by your zip code. According to my zip code, I'm a zone 5a...this year. I've been zone 5b in previous years, so, I just tend to go by the general rule of thumb and plant in the ground on Mother's Day. However, this year, Mother's Day was NOT warm. Nor, is the forecast saying it will be much above the freezing point overnight, for another few days.

But, who wouldn't be confused with all of the zone and plant hardiness maps, right? I mean, hey, it's so lovely to see all of those pretty colors; adding vibrancy and life to the otherwise dreary and, let's face it, not so interesting charts. But, what does it all mean? How in the world do they come up with this stuff? Well, in a few words; time, science and research. Lots and lots of tracking over time, science and research. And, patience. 

What do the first and last frost dates mean, and what do we do with those dates? Generally, the first frost date is an estimation of the date that you can expect the first frost to occur in the fall, based on years of tracking and recording. The last frost date is the opposite; when you can expect the last frost to occur in the spring, before planting out your precious, tender seedlings and putting seeds or bulbs into the ground for growth. You will need patience to accomplish this task, though. You'll have to wait on Mother Nature to give you permission. 

I would absolutely advise someone to do a general search through your preferred search engine, if you're looking for the best time to put a particular plant or seed into the ground. But, as a general rule of thumb, you should be able to put most everything into the ground right around that last frost date in the spring. Oh, but I didn't wait. I was a bit overly anxious and I put 42 Cherokee Purple Tomato seedlings into the ground during a warmup at the end of April, this year. I may have 3 or 4 that have "kind of" survived-ish. I guess that's what I get for being impatient.

Patience is the first lesson one should learn in gardening. Everything else, well, that can come with research and experience. Patience is the priority. Why can't I seem to practice that? Is it really that hard to just wait? Well, yes, for me it is. I am trying to build a business with my garden. I'm expanding my garden to 6,000 square feet this year. That's 0.137741 of an acre. It's a huge undertaking. The permaculture food forest will cover 1/4 acre at 10,890 square feet, so imagine that just over half of that, is a separate garden.

So many people do not truly know how big or small that is. My house is only 934 square feet of living space. My garden is over 6 times the size of my house; that is massive! Is this going to get the better of me? I truly don't know. So, I have to try very hard to organize myself, and quickly. I thought I had done a good job of planning it all out and being organized, but as I sit here typing this blog, I find myself feeling a bit ill-prepared and unready.

But, again, I got impatient. I started things way too early, put things out to harden off too early, put things into the ground too early. I don't know if all that I have waiting now, is going to be successful and grow, all because I was impatient, followed by perhaps a bit of laziness, truthfully. Oh, how I need to learn patience. 

What have I learned through it all? That I truly need to keep learning and growing, and that first lesson needs to be patience. So, I send you all peace and energy, and hopefully a bit of insight, so that you can learn from my follies, on why and how you need to practice some patience when it comes to gardening.

Many Blessings

Live from the Earth. Play in the dirt.