Tag: container gardening

March to Your Own Beet!

March to Your Own Beet!

Life is sometimes about patience and constant growth, following an unknown path, and trusting your instincts. It doesn’t have to be something huge or life-changing, but rather something small that can bring you joy and an opportunity to celebrate even the smallest achievements for yourself.

I own a small house in California. I don’t have a huge backyard, but rather a small patio with just enough space for container gardening, a BBQ, and a small patio set. I’ve always dreamed about having a big backyard so I could garden. For some reason, I enjoy plants. I’m not a great gardener, but I’m a happy one.

I planted tomatoes and peppers from scraps leftover from making salad, grew an avocado tree from the pit, and generally enjoyed schlepping around and playing in the dirt. I also have a great love for garden centers—Lowes and Armstrong were always my favorites.

Last year, I became a little more ambitious and planted two types of eggplant. My optimism also led me to buy beet seeds. I thought, “What could happen? If they grow, they grow; if not, the packet was only a dollar ninety-nine, and I had fun.”

To my pure joy, leaves sprouted, and I watched my beet grow from a tiny plant to one with huge leaves. Every day, I checked on it, making sure it was growing, and trying to figure out when it was time to harvest. Yes, I could’ve Googled it, but instead, I decided to follow my own instinct. A year later, I have beets—and I am extremely excited.

I’m very well aware that buying beets at the store is easy, cheap, and convenient. But there’s something so special about seeing something grow from a seed to a full-blown plant that I harvested today.

Some days are all about the little things that make you happy—those small achievements that no one else may notice or care about, but they still manage to put a smile on your face and make you want to march to your own beet!

My not so green thumb

I love to grow plants, plants do not always love me growing them. In my youth I was very good at growing succulents, primarily because it was hard to kill them. Some of them are miraculously still alive 30 years later but that could be attributed to the fact that when I left my home country my mom took custody of my plants.  I was always envious of those who had plants that lasted and decided that at some point in my life I will make it. So I started  growing  hardy, hard to kill plants with some limited success.

As my motto is to never give up, last year I bought 2 raised beds  from Costco. I started with seeds and that had very limited success. I didn’t manage to grow anything beyond a beginner plant. It was nice to see something sprout but it was very disappointing. So I switched strategy and moved to buying starter plants. My focus was on tomatoes, peppers and basic herbs.

The tomatoes grew and so did the peppers, and even more the interest of my neighborly racoon. I managed to eat a couple of tomatoes and maybe a pepper or two before my raccoon co partner took a bite and we were all happy.

This year, I added eggplant with success, parsley, basil and some jalapenos. And I enjoy going out to my patio and using my homegrown herbs and veggies. My Airdale loves my new hobby as well. On Fridays she gets to join me  in the car and at the Lowe’s garden center as we look for interesting plants to add to my planters. 

Some of us were not born with a green thumb, I am one of these people and every day when I go outside to my patio to survey my plants I am astonished and amazed that they are still alive.  My persistence is apparently bigger than my not so green thumb and that makes my happy, so the lesson is not to give up even on the little things.