Suburban Gardener—

This Year I Resolve To…

By Gerry McCabe

Welcome to 2001! I chuckle when I think back 30-plus years ago when I was 17 years old and how I imagined the world in 2001.

First of all I figured I would be an old “coot” at 49 years old, sitting watching TV all day while nursing my ailments! I really thought that! Now that the future is the present I find myself more active and healthier than I was in 1970. Albeit I do need a bit more sleep to function at full capacity, but I have never felt better.

I blame my condition on a much healthier lifestyle than years ago but a chunk of my well-being is a result of my gardening passion. For what better way to exercise, breath in the fresh air and commute so closely with nature than to get right down on your hands and knees be one and the same with the earth while at the same time producing splashes of beauty to nurture and enjoy?

We as gardeners are truly blessed for we can see what it takes to have a better world and we are always trying to improve it. My New Year’s resolutions are often long forgotten by the time my birthday comes around in the middle of the month, but this year I decided to make them more realistic and attainable and therefore more adhering. Sharing them with you will also light the spark within me to keep my promises. I’ll feel you’ll all be watching.

1. First and foremost… I will keep my resolutions on paper and read them the first of each month as a gentle reminder of my plans.

2. Clean and organize my garden tools.

I’m ashamed to say my tools are everywhere and sometimes it can take 20 minutes to find something. 

3. Replace any worn or broken tools.

Ask me how embarrassed I was on the day of the Butterfly Garden clean up, when each of my three hand clippers was either broken or dull in the blade. And I call myself a gardener!

4. Plot my vegetable garden on paper and stick to the plan.

How many times have I stood in the garden in the middle of May, mouth dropped to my chest, staring at three more full trays of seedlings that I just “had to grow” and now not have a stitch of room for?

5. Put a curb on garden catalog buying!

This would also refer to resolution #4, when in January every vegetable, flower and rose bush looks more tempting than the one before. Every garden should have some kind of a plan or you’ll end up with more of a collection of plants than a true garden. Repetition and balance are keys to remember.

6. Keep a garden journal of everything done inside and outside in relation to the garden.

I have preached this over the years but I confess I have not practiced it. Yes, I started one in the fall of 1999 but never seemed to find the time to make entries after the hectic spring planting of 2000. Even now when I pick it up and read what I did write, I find it a good reference. I even drew maps!

7. Clean, clean and clean again!

Nothing spreads disease and insect infestations more than dirty tools and dirty flower pots and seed trays. Ideally all tools should have already been cleaned and properly oiled by now. But some people like me tend to put that on the bottom of my fall “to do” list and end up with a mess in the spring.

Reusable pots and seed trays should be cleaned with a solution of bleach and water before use. Better yet, remove all the heavy pieces of soil and run them through the dishwasher on the light cycle. Don’t just rinse them under warm water and try to use them in that condition as I did last year.

After acquiring a three-tiered grow light apparatus I thought I would have the best seedlings in town. To my dismay, I ended up with a white fly infestation that just about wiped out all my plants. Even after bottles of insecticidal soap, I still lost more than half my seedlings. Lesson learned.

8. Follow directions when planting.

My Master Gardener instructor often said, “Many gardening rules can be broken. Do what works for you.” I have stuck by his words but common sense has also got to be applied. You can’t plant a rose in the shade just because it would look good there.

Read up on your plants before planting. Be sure you have the proper exposure, pH and drainage. If planning on starting seedlings this year, a good reference is Burpee’s Seed Starter by Maureen Heffernan. It is a great guide for starting most any seed in or out.

9. I will find time each week to read my garden periodicals.

I have a basket of them that I haven’t read since summer! The wealth of information contained in these magazines can certainly bubble over into improvements in your garden.

10. Of most importance, I will find more quality time to spend with my life’s partner, Tom, and our “ark” of animals. Life is short and now that half of mine is behind me I need to do what I feel is most significant. I hope you will, too.

(When she isn’t tending to her garden at home, Gerry McCabe spends some of her time continuing her gardening education at Naugatuck Valley College in Waterbury. Gerry, who is a certified master gardener in Connecticut, can be reached at TNGCATS@aol.com.)