Should I Quit Gardening
In my daily interactions with others, as I discuss my gardening hobby, I tend to get comments like, “Oh, I’ve tried that but just don’t have a green thumb or things just don’t grow in the desert.” There are so many reasons why people have started gardening, only to quit a few months later. Through all the challenges that come to gardeners, it’s no wonder why so many question if it’s something they can do.
Why You Should Give Gardening Another Chance
It’s always amazed me how things grow so easily for some people, but not so much for others. Watermelon was one of my nemesis plants, which also happens to be one of my favorite fruits. Watermelon is a crop that is supposed to thrive in our desert climate and I’ve seen others have lots of success growing this fruit. Arizona tends to be one of the top melon producers in the country.
My first attempt was a fail, along with my 2nd, and 3rd, ok so you get the idea. After a couple years of unsuccessfully growing you’d think I’d throw in the towel, which I’m sure I told myself I’d do at the end of each growing season, but I stayed with it. Each year I’d take a new approach thinking that I understood why I failed the previous season and what I needed to do different this year for a big crop. Well, in the 6th year of trying to grow watermelon, I finally got it. I had monster sized amazing watermelons all summer long. That’s right it only took me 6 years, I could’ve quit, but would have missed out on all the lessons learned along the way.
How to Learn from Failure
Even the best gardeners in optimal growing conditions fail at growing something. It’s all part of the experience. Learning how to respond to our gardening failures, teaches us how to learn from our life failures. Learn from failure by:
- Looking at the experience objectively, instead of emotionally
- Assess the process
- Determine what went wrong
- Make corrections
- Start again
Everyone Fails
It’s no secret, you will most likely fail at something. It’s no different with gardening. There are many forces that will work against you having a successful crop, but as you continue to hone your skills, those failures become minimal. Accepting the fact that you will make mistakes can take the pressure or expectation off of having the perfect garden or for it to be as simple as putting a seed in dirt and watching vegetables pop out of the ground.
Don’t Compare Yourself
It’s fun to see what others are growing to start envisioning all the possibilities for your backyard, but when things don’t work exactly like others, don’t beat yourself up for it. We often see the results, but forget about all the hard work that others put into achieving those outcomes. If you feel the need to compare, use it for motivation on what you can do. As a gardener, you’ll continue to develop and evolve your unique ways of doing things. When I initially started gardening I was never big on aesthetics, just geared towards functionality, but have since started to appreciate more of the visual appeal of gardens. Comparing yourself leads you to try to do what others are doing, which doesn’t always help gain the most out of the experience.
Enjoy the Process
When I first started gardening my main reason was the harvest or end result. If that is the only reason you garden, it’s easy to see how it can become discouraging or even lead to the decision to quit if the end results aren’t what you expected. I’ve learned that gardening does so much more for me then just eating what I grow. In my post, Favorite Things to Do in the Garden, I discuss all the things I’ve come to enjoy with the gardening experience.
Learn from Mistakes
There are always two ways to approach failure to let it beat you down or use it as a way to improve. I’ve decided to choose the latter option. Trial and error becomes a great teacher when it comes to gardening. It’s like experimenting in a lab continuously working to perfect the perfect growing formula for your backyard. I’m constantly reading blogs, watching videos, going to nurseries, classes, and learning from other gardeners. The more you learn and implement, the more the results improve.
Celebrate Success
Make your successes a big deal! Tell others about what you’ve been able to grow, share your bounty with others, and enjoy the fruits of your labors. We as gardeners like to share photos and stories with each other, so join the club. Taking time to recognize those gardening accomplishments will help you through the times when things don’t work out.
It’s more than just Reaping the Harvest
Over the years gardening has become a coping strategy to help me recharge from the daily grind. Spending time tending to the garden brings a tranquility into my life that is solely unique. In my post on Building relationships through a gardening community, I discuss how gardening connects us culturally and connects us with others. As you gain wisdom it becomes rewarding to teach others, to share insights and to guide them on their gardening adventure.
In conclusion, if you’ve considered yourself a failure in the garden, I encourage you to give it another chance. Maybe the bugs raided your garden, the birds ate your tomatoes, or too much rain flooded your crops. Whatever it may have been that soured your experience, changing your paradigm from being results focused to finding your inner passion for the gardening experience, will make you think twice about quitting.
Please comment below on anything that you’ve enjoyed from this post or stories of learning from your gardening failures.