patience is a virtue.....

Okay, gardening is not an overnight accomplishment. This is something that is going to cultivate more than vegetables for me. I am having to learn something that does not come easily.....patience!

Seedlings take quite a while to grow, like weeks. You can accelerate this process by buying a grow light, but it still doesn't happen overnight. No matter how many times you go back to check on them and spray them with water, they still have not magically sprouted. Once you do have little green sprouts, it takes a long time for them to develop into the plants that you see at the garden centers.

Plus, there is this little thing called weather that you have to deal with. Even though there are some very hardy, cool weather vegetables that can be planted early, you really have to wait until there is no more threat of frost. Hmmmm......around here that means about April 1st!

Now, all good gardeners know that you must also take into consideration moon cycles. As I checked my Farmers Almanac online, it suggests certain times during the moon phase that you do not plant. It is a full moon right now and it says NOT to plant anything during March 26-31. I guess I will listen to what this very wise reference says so I will have a very successful garden.

We got all the necessary ingredients for a good garden soil; topsoil, peat moss, manure, mushroom compost, and cotton compost and stirred them up good. Now, they just sit there waiting until Thursday for anything to be planted. I am not good at waiting. I am just itching to get out there and get my plants in the ground. There is one little problem......

Even when I get to plant them, there is still more waiting to be done before harvest!!! I will have plenty of yellow peppers, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, strawberries, onions, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower to share.....in a couple months! Guess I will be healthy in many ways after this gardening adventure, adding a good measure of patience to the harvest!