Gathering The Essentials

There is an old Greek saying that goes: “Bean by bean the bag gets full.” This is what I tell myself as I pull together the things I need to start my tiny indoor garden. This last week the starter potting soil arrived as did some more seeds. The grow light is here, and I have even started to look around my home for other things that I can use like the avocado pit now sitting in the glass of water, or cuttings from veggies (I don’t expect to grow carrots in a pot on the table, but the green tops would be nice).  It’s kind of like thinking outside the box that says “gardening do’s and don’ts.” As my new favorite gardening hero, Monty Don, always says: “Don’t be afraid to break the rules when it comes to gardening.” I still have to wait another week or two before I actually start the seedlings until our MIA spring weather finally comes to stay instead of just paying a visit, bringing the temperatures and light that will help even indoor seeds to get a better start in life. As my mom used to say: “all good things come to those who wait.”

Keeping my focus on this project has helped me see things from a whole different perspective. It’s taken me away from the endless grim reports and finger pointing of TV and online news and shifted my mind to making things grow. Not just looking for innovative and creative ways to grow things in a tiny space with very low lighting, but using the same mindset to create how I want to spend the rest of my time outside of gardening.? How do I want to grow the way I live, the way I interact with the world and the people in it, and how can I plant seeds of community involvement, support and change? How can I make a difference with the way I spend my money, use energy, live more sustainably? And what essential things and people do I need to gather to me to make that all happen?

If there is one thing I’ve taken away from all of the successes and failures of learning to garden over the years it is that sometimes the tiniest seed will yield the biggest return. It only takes one that has the strength and courage to push through the soil into the light of day.

And so it is.