KateCRAFTS AND HOME DECOR ARE GREAT BUT GARDENING IS THE ULTIMATE DIY PROJECT!
I have always loved DIY projects but I have not always loved gardening.
I grew up taking care of our goats and horses, mucking stalls, and (sometimes) helping in my parent’s gardens. I loved the goats and I loved the horses but I hated the rest of it. It is a well-established family fact that my sister is the “country girl” and I am the “city girl”. She did 4H and worked with animals and rode horses like a pro. I could barely saddle my horse and hated riding too fast because I was afraid to fall off. I hated all the poop, the dirt, the bugs, and finishing chores in the sweltering heat or the freezing cold. The Country Girl handled it all like a champ.
But you know what?
I miss it.
I miss getting my hands dirty in the garden. I miss the smell of horses (the horses themselves, not their poop! Ha!) and the funny personalities of goats. I miss laying on our horse’s back to soak up the sun while she grazed in the pasture (I’m sure that was an odd sight!). I miss the excitement of newborn baby goats and sitting with my sister in the barn while those growing babies stood on our shoulders to nibble our hair.
Back then, other kids our age thought it was really weird we had goats, but I am sad my own kids won’t have those same experiences!
The Country Girl still owns horses to this day and even has a flock of chickens. I am so lucky she brings me fresh eggs!
Why Gardening?
Why did I, The City Girl, decide to venture out into the yard, claim a chunk of lawn as garden space, and willingly fight weeds, bugs, and the Midwestern sun to produce food for my family?
Because I might not be able to own chickens or goats (our city won’t allow it), but the one thing I can do on my own property is garden, dammit!
It took a big parenting fail to lead me to gardening though. When my eldest was 4, he attempted to cheer me up after I’d wasted an entire cucumber in the refrigerator. “Don’t worry, Mama. The grocery store will grow you a new one!” Aww, my son is so cute….wait, what? Uh-oh!
My kid thought the grocery store actually grew vegetables. With his innocent statement, I realized something much more important than the gross cucumber I’d needed for our dinner. I had never taught my child where our food came from!
As The City Girl living in a suburb, I didn’t normally give this subject much thought. Our society has become so accustomed to running to the store for a new cucumber that we are detached from something that is so vital to our survival. Food!
My son knew that animals lived on farms but we hadn’t taught him anything about crop farming, where and how fruits and vegetables are grown, or that we could even grow food ourselves. In that very moment, the decision was made! I told him we would try to grow food in our own backyard and his little 4 year old mind was blown.
We proceeded to plant peas, radishes, tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, zucchini, carrots, blueberries, two peach trees, cantaloupe, strawberries, and waaayyy too many cucumbers. Despite my killing a bunch of plants, our first real garden produced a ton of food and I can’t wait to expand so we can grow even more!
I now spend a lot of time thinking about soil quality (I proudly texted a picture of garden dirt to my Dad the other day. Who am I?!?), compost, when to plant seeds, and how to ward off pests that might eat our vegetables. And I love it!
How is Gardening a DIY?
Gardening is so much more than just plopping a plant into the ground.
You can’t just leave it there because it would die….unless you live in a plant growing paradise. Do you? If so, please tell me where so I can move there too. Ok? Cool, thanks.
Gardening isn’t difficult, per say, but you do have to nurture your plants, pick the correct location, water them to their specific needs, keep an eye out for damaging bugs, etc. Sometimes plants die or get diseased, sometimes they don’t fruit even if they are healthy, and sometimes you forget to water them. Don’t worry, it happens to all of us. If you choose to grow a tomato plant (good choice, there is NOTHING like a homegrown tomato still warm from the sun), that tomato plant needs you!
You are learning about this living thing that will then pay you for your trouble with healthy deliciousness.
You are growing your own food and that food literally KEEPS YOU ALIVE! How is that not the ultimate DIY? My 30-something year old mind? Blown!
I have so much respect for all of our ancestors. They didn’t have grocery stores, or packaged meals, or restaurants to visit when they were hungry. They had to work hard, grow food, raise animals, make every meal, preserve food for the winter, etc., etc., etc. The amount of work that went into every day survival is astounding to this modern day woman and I am proud of the strength of those that came before me.
So my little way of connecting my family to our food is through gardening. It seems like such a simple concept, this gardening stuff, but I think it’s pretty important!
Hopefully the responsibility of growing and caring for that simple tomato plant will help me teach my boys about the hard work and dedication that goes into growing food….and about not wasting what you’ve worked so hard for.