Gardening is like business
by
This year is the first year in my life I have planted a garden. My wife and I bought our first house last year, but with so many projects to do inside and out and our getting prepared for baby #1 we just didn’t get it planted last year.
As I was out tending to the garden this weekend, I noticed an interesting analogy. Those precious plants in my garden are sort of like customers.
- First step. Before planting them, I need to understand what they require in order to thrive. Every one is different and has its own unique set of challenges. It’s my job to pay attention to those details to ensure their success.
- Step 2 is planting them. This can be hard work! The soil needs to be tilled, holes dug, stands set up. It’s dirty. It’s hot. It requires some special tools and a few skills. And all the while, I need to remember each one’s individual requirements. To complicate things, sometimes tree roots get in the way or ant hills need to be battled. But eventually, the hard work is done and I can just sit back and wait for the reward, right? Not a chance!
- Step three is maintenance. And it’s the biggest step yet!
- Weeding. I don’t know what it is about weeds. They are serious about messing up my pristine garden. Hoe a few out and more come back. Pull some and more pop up. (That reminds me, anyone have any tips on how to get rid of old rhubarb plants? Ugh.) Again, more hard work. But I need to be patient and keep on top of things or my plants are not going to fair well.
- To make matters worse, some pesky rabbits are munching my pepper plant. My neighbor put up a fancy green rabbit fence around his garden. I haven’t decided if I’m going to follow in his footsteps, but it’s not a bad idea. Sometimes we need to adapt to new challenges, and I hear BB guns are not allowed for rabbit control. Too bad. (just kidding)
- The other big maintenance step is watering. Or at least checking up on the state of the soil to determine if it needs water. And all the while I thought I could just plant it and forget it.
- Hopefully, after all of this hard work, I’ll have a nice harvest throughout the summer. I can’t tell you how rewarding it will be to see the success of each plant in my garden. The fruits of one’s labor definitely taste the best!
- It would seem after enjoying the bounty of a good harvest, I can then expect to sit back and relax, pat myself on the back a few times and call it done. But reality tells me more hard work is in store. After cleaning up all of the old stalks and unusable stuff, I’ll need to evaluate what went right and what went wrong. Then set a plan for next year so that my harvest will be even more bountiful!
You see, there are good ideas in a garden! The biggest lesson of all? Hard work and careful attention will yield bountiful results, and thoughtful evaluation will allow for continuous improvement over time.
Now, pass the butter and salt. I’m getting hungry.
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