Have you ever stood in front of a mirror and checked yourself out just after a gym session? While on some days you may feel that your tummy has gone in by a centimeter and your waistline has reduced by an inch, most days you feel like you are just where you started. That’s so similar to how you feel when you find that your seed has germinated, but it simply refuses to bloom after that. The euphoria of seeing the seed germinate fades and you feel like you are practically back to square one! What seemed like months and months of arduous effort, was in reality only a few weeks! In this world of super-fast everything, we are forgetting the importance of patience. We cannot control the pace of muscle growth or body metabolism and the same goes for plant growth. You’ve got to be patient!
Patience – A Virtue
Patience is truly a virtue. Be it gym-goers or home-growers.
Are you someone who has tried sowing some seeds or brought home a plant but have experienced that “It just never grows!”?
New home-growers make this mistake of being impatient and setting a time limit to their efforts. When there are no results within the decided time-frame, they tell themselves that gardening is not their cup of tea or it is too hard. Can an entrepreneur ever guarantee when his/her business will take off? Can a sportsperson ever guarantee when he will get selected for the national team? If these people gave up every time it took longer than they expected to reach their desired goals, we would have lost so many successful businesses and talented sportspersons.
This holds true for everything new we begin in life, including gardening. While it is frustrating to see your efforts yield no results, it is not prudent to be impatient while growing a garden. Instead, focus on what you can do– water your plants once daily, and tend to them for 15 mins regularly.
But Why Aren’t My Plants Growing? What Am I Doing Wrong?
Well, sometimes things have to go wrong for them to go right! And even if they do go wrong, you don’t need to get disappointed. Your unsuccessful attempts in the garden may be because you’re yet to understand your plant needs fully. Maybe you are watering the plant excessively when it actually is hydrated enough. Or maybe the sun is not shining in that corner of the house, and the plant needs some change of place. Or your seeds may just have traveled too deep to find their way up or you were not able to lay your hands on the good ones. Sometimes, the plant not growing may not have anything to do with you at all. For instance, the seeds you used may be non-regenerative and you need to purchase new ones. Or it just needs some more time to grow.
Umpteen reasons but the outcome may be just one – your plant decides to not grow!
It’s important to remind oneself that gardening is a labor of love and patience. In the beginning, it can feel a bit unrewarding. However, the first time you see a dainty green stem pop out from the soil into the free air, you’ll be elated. The first time you pluck off fresh veggies from your terrace garden and use them to cook a meal, you’ll see that it was all worth the wait. You’ll take pride in your gardening efforts.
That being said, first-time growers need not even put in a lot of work or invest much time in gardening. We recommend starting small with a few vegetables that are easy to grow, don’t need any special care, and can be grown in a small space. For example, leafy greens like palak, dhania, methi (and the list goes on..) are just perfect for beginners. Also, you can use our triple F formula for kitchen gardening and minimize your gardening investments. You can begin with a single pot on your terrace, in the balcony, or the backyard. With time, you can experiment and make additions to your home garden.
A Garden Is More than Just Fruits & Veggies
The fresh veggies and fruits you produce are not the only benefits of cultivating a home garden. For many people, kitchen gardening turns into a relaxing hobby. It gives one time to think clearly, gain perspective, and resolve one’s internal conflicts. Over the years, it can become an inseparable part of one’s life. Jenny Uglow rightly says, “We might think we are nurturing our garden, but it is our garden that is nurturing us.”
Moreover, did we tell you, gardening is an excellent activity to involve your little ones? Your garden is the best place for them to learn lessons of patience, responsibility, the compounded effect of daily efforts, and experience a sense of joy and belonging. Your home garden can start with just a single plant. But you can grow it into a place where a hundred memories reside. Simple moments spent with your loved ones, filled with the joy of doing something together can light up your gardening space for years together!
While we wish your gardening journey takes a wonderful trajectory hereafter, we’d love to help you check off gardening from your daily to-do list with our garden planner app. Check out Kheti Buddy Home today if you’re planning to start a compact balcony garden or a self-sufficient terrace garden. Our garden planner app is a go-to guide for all gardening tips- right from selecting which plants to grow, how many seeds you will require, and what care you need to take to grow a lush green garden at home. Keep sowing, keep growing!
Get access to amazing gardening tips with Kheti Buddy Home app!