Habitual Balance

Why we got into gardening in the first place

How Gardening Is Good For Your Soul

Why we got into gardening in the first place

How Gardening Is Good For Your Soul

Hello friends of the online realm! Today we’re starting out a new month in Fall and a new topic for the next few weeks! October will be all about gardening. How we got started, what we do to maintain, resources that we hold near and dear, and finally anything that you may (or may not!) need to get started! Which leaves us today to talk all about how we first got into gardening in the first place, and how far we’ve come thus far. Yay for growth! Sunflowers, Bubbles, Beautiful Woman, Sundress, Nature

The Gardening Girl

Ten years ago (or so), I met my husband. That’s when I really started taking this whole “gardening” concept seriously. Before that though, I grew up gardening and didn’t even realize it. Until of course I recently reflected on it all while writing this post for you! Back in the day, I was a hardcore bug-smooshing, garden growing teeny bopper. Today, I’m still a hardcore garden growing lady, with much less of the bug-smooshing, since any harm to mother nature now pulls those good ol’ heart strings. When I was little, I used to garden quite frequently with both of my grandfathers. They had pretty decent sized gardens, and I got to be a big *little* part of it. I picked tomatoes, weeded around them, watered what I could, and watched and learned whatever it was that my tiny brain could absorb. Funny isn’t it? How much we learn as young children that we don’t even coherently remember. We take it all in, learn each new intricacy, but never fully embrace it until one day as a thirty-something year old it hits us just how exactly it is best to tie those darned old tomatoes up properly. An “Aha” moment, if you will. Weird. Being human, is weird. Related: Developing Routines & What is Sleep Hygiene Contemplating Tomatoes in Your Garden

Down on the Farm

In the last decade though, I’ve actually had the honor of working on a farm nearby my home. It was such a beautiful time in my life. Right before my last big job, but right after the first “green light” of my working career. I had just quit a different day job (none of them ever felt quite right), and had been dreaming of being outdoors more often and in the bright sunshine and in the not so bright office light much less. I welcomed new feelings of freedom once I stepped out onto the gravel into dirt driveways that I would drive the old trucks on and felt right back at home when getting my hands in the good smelling fresh soil. At first, it was blissful. I could do this every day, all day, I thought. But then it sank in after the second season that I wasn’t cut out to do this as a full-time job. I hated the cold, hated the hot, and needed that Goldilocks kind of “just right” feeling. So, yet another job bit the dust. Woman working the stalks while discovering Habitual Balance

Starting Gardening at Home

Once I had my home that we still reside in today, it was clear to me that gardening was going to be a big part of it. I loved it and still do. We rototill when necessary, put black plastic down instead of weed til the cows come home, and have learned oodles of tips and tricks that we will dive more into as the month goes on! Before working on the farm however, I never knew that “cole crops” were a thing. Did you?! Here’s a tidbit on its meaning if you’re still unsure:
“Broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower are known as cole crops. Several other vegetables belong to this group, including Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, and kohlrabi, but these are considered minor vegetables. Cole crops are cool season vegetables that grow best at temperatures between 60 F and 68F.”
This is what we’ll be diving into soon enough during the month of October, since planting these bad boys will soon be in season for us here in western PA. They’re the coolest. See what I did there…They give you a second chance of sorts to continue eating in season, even during the Fall and Winter months of the year when the frost hits and the snow flies! What a wonderful opportunity! The best part about it all (in my opinion) is that there is SIGNIFICANTLY less bugs, heat, and little annoyances of such. I’m more comfortable in a sweatshirt and muck boots, not sweating buckets while breaking my back! Speaking of which, instead of bending over, I highly recommend investing in a nice kneeling mat. Don’t bother with knee pads. Those are MUCH more uncomfortable than you’d think after needing to bend up and down a zillion times in jeans. Related: Why I Chose Courage & It’s Endless Reservations Beautiful girl in a dress gardening

What are Cole Crops?

Do you know anything about cole crops? How has your summer been? Did you harvest a lot or just a little? This year we did great in the start of the season, but as life happened we began to slack off some. Our lettuce is now seeding along with most of our herbs, and the kale has basically taken over whatever it could by now. Our sunflowers are drooping and the broccoli looks more like broccolini these days. The good news is is that we’re coming to the change of season. Soon, it’ll be time to harvest the seeds and pull out the old plants to make space for new crops. The garden is ever-changing once you get the hang of it, kind of like life itself. We’re always going to go through changes and seasons in our lives, learning each day what is best to hold on to and what can be thrown to the outside of the fence. As we grow, we learn which battles are worth fighting and which tomato plants should just be pulled out before they cause a disease to travel to the rest of the plants. Keep working toward your goals and add just one thing to do your list each day to improve on. By the end of it all, you’ll have a much better handle on things, and well, most likely one heck of a good looking garden. Garden of Sunflowers  

Thank you for reading  “How Gardening Is Good For Your Soul”!

Thank you for reading today’s post about how we first got into gardening!  Let me know what resonates with you or if you have a suggestions for our next post by commenting below.  Don’t forget to check out our sister site Rooted Drawers.

Habitual Balance began in January 2023 as just a thought bubble inside my head. I wound up in the hospital with what I thought was a stroke, and landed on my couch with serious anxiety about how I was living my life for 30 years. Since then, it has grown into a beautiful piece of my life that I would love to continue putting more effort into. With a full time job and a home to care for, HB is unfortunately not at the forefront of this journey just yet. I joined buymeacoffee to allow the opportunity of the love I know it can bring and the community I’m confident can grow from this love of self, so I’m reaching out to see who else is interested in learning along with me. Thank you for your consideration in subscribing to the blog, for the support along the way, and for becoming the beautiful human being that you are.

Stay rooted,
Shelby :heart:

Habitual Balance

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