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Monday, April 20, 2009

Gardening ABCs

It's good to be reminded of gardening basics once in a while, and last week Jeff Clarke did an able job of it at a workshop at Camden Children's Garden. He emphasized that even "experts" make mistakes and have failures. That's reassuring for people who are terrified of making a mistake. The beauty of gardening is that even if you kill something, you can always replace it or try something else. No big deal. This Friday, I'll be doing a story on Jeff and his sensible approach to vegetable gardening, which is timely. Seed sales this spring are way up; the interest in growing vegetables hasn't been this high since the early 2000's and I think a lot of people are interested for the right reasons. But it seems unfair to me that they're being told by those with much to gain that a minor investment in seeds will produce hundreds of dollars worth of fresh produce, seemingly just like that. Gardening is work. If you're a novice, there are certain things - lettuce, carrots, radishes, for ex. - that are easy to grow from seed. But at least to start, I'd buy seedlings for other stuff. Jeff suggests forgoing the romantic notion of a gigantic garden and starting small. Small is manageable. Small will have enough weeds, believe me. You can always trade up.
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About Virginia A. Smith
Ginny Smith, a Philadelphia native, worked as a reporter at newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Ohio – with six short months at the end of the Bulletin tossed in – before returning to Philadelphia in 1985 to join the Inquirer. Her favorite beats here have included Center City, roving around Pennsylvania (and getting paid for it!) and alternative medicine. She’s also been City Editor and Pennsylvania Editor. Ginny has been happily writing – and learning - about gardening fulltime since 2006. She’s won two silver medals of achievement from the national Garden Writers Association and in 2011, Bartram’s Garden honored her with its Green Exemplar award for her stories about “the region’s deeply rooted horticultural history, cultural attractions and bountiful gardens.”
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