A Millennial’s Garden Comes Into Its Own - Part 2

by Tom Kegley

In an ongoing saga, the journey into gardening for the intrepid millennial has hit stride. Now 8+ weeks into the season, Lee’s garden is blooming with the delight to be expected if you’ve been around the track, as all in our circle have. Not without a few stumbles in the beginning, natural and otherwise, all in all, a well-placed source reports pleasure and bounty from efforts to date!

As a reminder of scope, this first-time gardener resurrected the former house owner’s dilapidated raised bed garden consisting of 6 - 4’x7’ beds. He filled it with a host of veggies and herbs well suited for the city garden– tomatoes (6 varieties), cucumber, squash, zucchini, peppers (banana, jalapeño, bell), and a range of herbs, including parsley, sage, basil, oregano, mint, and eucalyptus.

An abundance of rain early on was attributed to the failure of the zucchini planting. Richmond neighborhoods are famous for their squirrel population but in this neighborhood deer turned out to be biggest pest of all in the beginning, chopping off several plants, leaving stems. Moderation of the wetness along with some netting and application of a natural deer repellent put things back on track. Beyond that, taking the first learning curves of gardening presented teachable moments but the gardener was undaunted.

At this point, everything planted is in harvest and thoroughly enjoyed at the table. Lee looks forward to a steady stream of goodies to the season’s end.

Asked for comment of the best and worst of the endeavor so far, the millennial gardener’s response on the plus side was spot on from Robert’s Top Ten List of Why Gardeners Garden. In Lee’s case, he sees his efforts as therapy for stress relief from the daily pressure cooker of a challenging job. A close second, digging the dirt and getting dirty hands is a real feel good, I suppose harkening back to childhood memories. Not so surprising, with Richmond’s premier year round farmers market just two blocks away, having the freshest of food on the table was not a biggie. On the downside, making the required effort of tending part of a regular routine is a challenge given the attractions of city life and social activities available to a young urbanite.

Looking ahead, as the bounty increases, plans are underway for preserving some of the excess with drying and perhaps freezing. I’ll say, with confidence, that canning is a bridge too far for this city boy!

Stay tuned for the late summer chapter!

Tom

Tom is The Group's "Branding Guru." Tom Kegley Communications provides marketing communications services to all segments of the horticulture industry and is a Service Provider to The Garden Center Group.