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Growing Mondays: Buck your trend
Observe what you usually do, and try something different
Jo Hunter Adams
November 25, 2024
Hi! I'm Jo, writing from Heart & Soil homestead, a 1-acre homestead in the Far South of Cape Town, South Africa. Every week I share inspiration and education for your growing journey. Thanks so much for reading!
Welcome to Growing Mondays, where I share ideas to help you grow edible and medicinal plants.
Pause for a moment, take stock of your garden and recognise your tendencies
I’ve been braiding so many onions this past week.
Take a moment to pause, take stock, and plan
This time of year, zucchini, strawberries, kale, gem squashes are all flowing in very rapidly, and I’ve been prepping all our onions for storage.
The homestead seems to be moving so fast.
Hard as it is, when things are growing rapidly it’s a very good time to write a few lines about what you’re growing and how everything is going, and anything you’re worried about. I just write this down in my regular diary/day planner.
The garden is one of the safest places to recognise your shortcomings and strengths.
I don’t think there are any perfect gardeners out there, we all have our tendencies. And your tendencies probably come with real benefits. Mid-season is a great moment to ask “what are my tendencies?” “How’s that working out?” “Is there any way to buck the trend?”
If you’re neurotic, maybe it’s a good moment to just observe and enjoy.
If you tend to just observe and enjoy, maybe this is a good moment to be brave and see if there’s a place to be more hands-on.
If you tend to get behind at harvesting and eating, find some ways to make sure you keep up with harvesting (underharvesting and overharvesting can leave your veg more vulnerable to pests).
If you tend to get behind at keeping your beds filled as you harvest, focus on a few steps you can take to take care of that (plant a row of carrots- it’s only 5 minutes).
If you tend to let your veg dry out, make a short-term plan for water, and note down a time in the future where you’ll think systemically about a long-term plan.
For me, I add too many items to my list, which means I always feel behind. So this week my list is going to be proportional to the minutes I have available.
You can see how the garden mirrors other parts of your life. Uggh.
I’m cheering you on in your growing. Let me know what you’re experiencing this season- I love building a picture of this seasons’ growing with you.
Note microclimates between your larger veg. Often that microclimate changes as tomatoes, brinjal, artichokes get large. So what may not have a worked a week ago may do really well now. Seedlings and seeds are generally cheap relative to the education they bring you, so planting things all season is a type of discipline.
I know this is a new heirloom- I think Polish pink? But it doesn’t look very pink. I guess my tendency is not to label very well…
Workshops and 2025
It’s our 10th year on the homestead, so it feels like a good time to pause and take stock. I’m not doing December workshops this year.
I still want to keep supporting growing in our community next year. So if you have ideas, keep sending them through!
We are eating zucchini every.single.day. This year I’ll dry some.
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