How My Garden Grows

Here in the South especially, so much is said through tone and facial expression. One word can hold the meaning of a sentence. With all that being said:

Y'all...

Seriously, I had no idea that things would take off as they did where my garden is concerned. Also, did I mention the business of selling tree seedlings? Yeah, well running that business turned out to be work, because things were selling really well!

Potato plant grown from an old potato

 Dad left me completely in charge of replying to inquiries because he was at his 9-5 and didn't have time to research the answers. I've spent almost as much time on the computer as I've spent shipping plants from Monday through Thursday. I didn't realize that I could be obsessive until now. I checked and rechecked tracking to be sure the plants arrived quickly, researched several different sources before answering questions, and looked up different plants I was considering selling.
Then the first person with a complaint emailed; he said that he thought his persimmon seedling was dead. It had only taken two days to reach him so I was skeptical, but then I researched it and realized that if the plant sat on his porch for a couple hours it could easily wilt. Reading further I found that it's just now a good idea to ship through summer, so from June 1st through September 1st I get a break! I'm using this time to reorder, and also to reconsider.
I hope that through diligent planning, I can start sewing and begin my own business before the year is over. Perhaps if I set up my schedule early, I can be prepared in advance to have time-even just a couple hours a day! As you can see, by my garden I also meant my life in general! I've just joined an Instagram challenge that starts next week. Most of the time I just feel too worn out to take "perfect" pictures and I'm hoping that the challenge will actually help me out because I would like to use Instagram effectively for my business as well!

Anyway, I'll leave you with this picture of my squash. Look over here to see what they started out looking like...And no, I haven't stopped being awestruck by them or talking to them to "help them grow". 

Growing a green thumb

"I am not a gardener."

"I have a black thumb." 

I've heard these words so many times, and even said them myself. I was essentially saying, "Don't have your expectations too high when it comes to me growing plant life!" One thing I've always been confident in is my seed growing ability though. It doesn't require much, you basically put some seeds in dirt, water them with a spray bottle, and watch the seedlings pop up in a couple of weeks or less. This I could do. 

Transplanted yellow squash

But something changed recently. Every year Daddy grows tomatoes, as well as a few other veggies of his choosing. It is an understood fact that I will do nothing but pick and cook the fruit of his labors; I love the fact that he gets that! This year, Daddy decided that he would plant vegetables at our rental house and in the yard of an agreeable close friend...AND that he would start selling seedling trees from our backyard. After buying the dormant little trees and planting them he realized something: he needed to connect with buyers. He immediately thought of his daughter who constantly mentions things about blogs and instagrams, and Face books online (it's really like this y'all.) The rest is history.

 I bought some organic seeds and began to plant them in egg cartons to keep them from getting hit by a late (for the south) frost, and I jumped online and started setting up ebay, paypal, craigslist, instagram, and twitter accounts. With each seedling tree I listed, I had to google all about them. In the meantime my squash plants were growing quickly, and starting to lean on their spindly little stems. I called my aunt and asked her when I should plant them and she said, "Right now!". She gave me explicit instructions about the sun and soil and depth...

Basically, I found out that it isn't about having a green thumb. It's about having the diligence and care to commit to a project until it's finished. I had a black thumb before, because it didn't benefit me to check out five books from the library about every aspect of vegetable growing and seedling health--like I currently have.

 I've grown a green thumb! You can too, but it's gonna be work! Are you ready?

See what dad has going on over on Instagram if you'd like!