How a New Gardener is Like a New Mother

The New Mother

We’ve all seen the commercial where it shows the contrast between first time parents and the parents who have a second. With the first one they try to do everything by the book. One of the ads show how a new mother uses a special tub and tests the water and uses special soap. With the next child the father is showering with the baby and exchanges that child with the now older first child.

Another ad shows how when the first child throws his pacifier on the floor, she washes it carefully before giving it back to the child. With the second she just looks it over, brushes off any specks and hands the pacifier back to the child.

The New Gardener

New gardeners are similar to new parents. They think they have to use the latest tillers and garden tractors. They think they have to till the ground until the soil is soft and fluffy. They think that the ground has to be perfectly level and the seeds spaced exactly so far apart. They worry about whether they have enough NPK. These new gardeners obsess over every bug that comes into their garden space. If a plant looks like it is sick, they feel that they have to do something to instantly make everything better. They think that if a worm gets into a tomato, the tomato is ruined, and they have to throw it out.