Lesley

I’d been an obedient organic gardening helper when I was a kid, but a few years ago, this city gal became “horticulturist-in-chief”, responsible for her own garden, vegetable plot and small orchard. I knew zilch. So I read every book and website I could find and talked to the village’s elders. A wet spring came on the heels of a mild winter, so by early summer, the garden suffered from a wide assortment of ills I was determined to heal. My well-intended efforts were overkill.

Like in business development, choose your seeds (prospects) well, ensure your soil (target market) is suitable, tend to them with regularity –not excess (be helpful, not an irritant), practice prevention rather than cure (anticipate client needs), celebrate blooms (debrief and thank clients), and carefully collect seeds for next year’s planting season (ask for referrals).

I’m becoming a better gardener

Ian

Haha… been there!

Here’s a related tale of nurturing gone bad: My husband and I grew a lovely batch of various peppers from seed last summer. After months of tender loving care the plants were abundant and beautiful. Throughout the month of September we told each other it was time to harvest–we’d do it tomorrow or the next day, we were too busy today. Well, you can guess what happened. September rolled into October. The first frost hit and blackened the plants. The entire crop was lost.

Lesson learned: When the time is right, you must harvest!

best,
Mary