I need a large brimmed hat.

I just did it.


I gave up on reading, I gave up on methods, I gave up on tactics.


I just, well, I just did what I thought needed to be done. 

I just stuck 'em in the ground.


You see, to me gardening is a joy.  It's a time of relaxation and freedom to carry me away from the stresses and staleness of the day.  When I'm gardening, I can feel the dirt through my fingers and smell the damp soil.  It's like therapy - getting to pull weeds, working in compost, and harvesting the bounty.  Ahhh...sweet, simple pleasures.  Like seeing a worm.  It makes me giddy every time.

Worms = Healthy Soil = Happiness


However, there are a lot of gardening theories and a lot of gardening strategies out there.  These are wonderful, and SHOULD be utilized, as they maximize productivity and efficiency.  But, as with cooking, I am more of a free-bird when it comes to gardening.  I've tried to plot it out and follow a method, but I just can't.  I want to just plant as I want to plant.  I want to put my lettuce next to my strawberries, because that's just where I feel like it should go.

 There is hardly a method.  And it's hardly as efficient as it should be.


So when it came time to plant my potatoes this past weekend, well, I just did it.  I'd read about letting them "seal" and letting them sit in the sunshine.  I've read about digging trenches and adding manure a few weeks prior to planting.  I've read all these things, and then, I just got tired of reading.  So I just dug a hole, cut the potatoes into large chunks, and stuck 'em down there.

In the dark, cool, moist ground.


Goodbye, potato.  Please do not rot.  Because I need you.

I hate being such a free spirit sometimes.  I really want to be a good gardener.  But I've learned that precise and meticulous just isn't my style.  I'm more like an artist, just doing what comes into my head.  Just doin' what I want.

So that's just what I did.


Do not take lessons from me.  Do not ask me specific questions about growing potatoes.  Because I just don't know. 


I put a few here.  And a few there.  And a few over there, too.  Four different varieties, all with their unique characteristics and requirements (which I'm sure I could read about in order to maximize their productivity).  But I won't.  Because I don't want to.


I just want to grow things with a joy in my heart.


And one of those really large brimmed gardening hats!


Ya, I definitely need one of those!


At least then, I'll look like I know what I'm doing.


I better get one soon.  I think the neighbors are on to me...