The kind of pride that comes from pulling something out of the soil that you nurtured is a unique kind. That unique feeling hit me the hardest with my sweet potato green harvest. It was like I could already taste the greens in my soup. And the leaves are still coming! Patience and care really do pay off — so much that the patience and care are really a small price to pay!
I was prepared for the sweet potato greens; I grow them every year — but not for the purple cabbage. 1) The cabbage is purple. 2) The cabbage is better than my green cabbage 3) The cabbage is a surprisingly hardy plant and can hold her own. My own garden, keeping secrets! What’s not a secret is that planting is hard. All that weeding, digging, bending, and second-guessing every spacing decision was a workout and a half, but all those bay sprouts started spilling over the beds crowded out all my inconveniences.
There’s something deeply satisfying about rubbing your herbs in between your fingers and catching that scent. Next year I’m adding sweet potato greens and hot peppers again. They’re practically family at this point. They’ve been staples in our house for generations. I didn’t expect how natural it would feel to share the food I grow in my garden. It almost feels wrong not to! I found myself handing out anything I could get my hands on, and have formed some real connections through sharing food. How my garden has taught me! Timing, soil, looking under the hood — not everything is as simple or unassuming as it looks. Those lessons are things I can plant next season right along with my seed packets. My garden doesn’t just feed me, it changes me. I’m learning to be increasingly patient, gentle, and curious. I can’t wait to get back in that dirt!
