Is Raising a Garden Like Raising Kids? - Todd Grover
Is raising a garden like raising kids? - Todd Grover
This year I attempted something totally new for me, raised gardens. Extensive planning was done, detailed research before materials were purchased, daily amount of sunlight exposure calculated for every area of my back yard to determine maximum sun exposure. Soil and fertilizer bought. Seeds purchased. Plants in hand. YouTube video’s watched on proper raised gardening procedures. Finally, the day arrived. Planting day. One week later I was telling myself, raising a garden seems a lot like raising kids. Speaking of which, I have four grown children whom I love dearly.
You may be asking what are the similarities? To be honest, there are too many to share in one blog so I will hit the highlights, and maybe there will be a part two. First of all, I was very intentional with my garden, doing everything in my power to ensure its success, produce. I find that “winging it” rarely works for anything. What type of soil, where will there be the most sunlight, etc. If I was going to attempt this, I wanted to do everything within my power to succeed. I find the same truth in parenting. Before our first child took a breath in this world, my wife and I began to plan on how we would raise our children. We would read to them every night; we would pray with them. We would go to family camps for vacations, you see what I mean. Do not misunderstand either. None of our planning interfered with each child’s individuality either. As a matter of fact, it allowed us to raise them the same within their individual personalities. A good, productive garden is not often left up to chance, and I find, either is a family. What’s your plan.
Before we get too far, let me say here, you can do all the planning in the world, but your child possesses a free will, which he will exercise. Also, without God’s amazing grace, you can do all the planning in the world to no avail. However, neither of these two realities should deter you from having a plan to raise your children.
Secondly, after the seeds where in, every day I checked for two things; growth and obstacles to growth (fungus, not enough water, weeds etc.). I made sure every day there was the appropriate amount of water for optimal growth. I made sure the weeds were pulled, not allowing these unwanted invaders a second to rob my plants of the needed nutrients for growth. I watched for diseases. As soon as I detected a produce destroyer, immediate action was taken to rid the plant of the army of microorganism invaders. If you what produce at the end of the day, you have to put in the time to ensure growth.
Parenting also requires realizing when you have errored and correcting the mistakes. In planning for my raised garden, I miscalculated how much sunlight the plants would receive. Come to find out, it was not near enough for some of the plants to reach their full potential. Solution, move the gardens eight feet to the south, which will give the plants more sunlight. If you want produce, you need adequate amount of sunlight. Do what it takes to maximize “Sunlight.” Point, realize when you have errored and make the corrections. The goal is a healthy, producing plant, not your feelings.
Might I suggest, if you are married and thinking about children and want to get a head start, plant a garden and pay attention to the lessons you learn. You may be saying, I don’t have time for that. You are about to learn lesson 1.
Is Raising a Garden Like Raising Kids? - Todd Grover
Is raising a garden like raising kids? - Todd Grover
This year I attempted something totally new for me, raised gardens. Extensive planning was done, detailed research before materials were purchased, daily amount of sunlight exposure calculated for every area of my back yard to determine maximum sun exposure. Soil and fertilizer bought. Seeds purchased. Plants in hand. YouTube video’s watched on proper raised gardening procedures. Finally, the day arrived. Planting day. One week later I was telling myself, raising a garden seems a lot like raising kids. Speaking of which, I have four grown children whom I love dearly.
You may be asking what are the similarities? To be honest, there are too many to share in one blog so I will hit the highlights, and maybe there will be a part two. First of all, I was very intentional with my garden, doing everything in my power to ensure its success, produce. I find that “winging it” rarely works for anything. What type of soil, where will there be the most sunlight, etc. If I was going to attempt this, I wanted to do everything within my power to succeed. I find the same truth in parenting. Before our first child took a breath in this world, my wife and I began to plan on how we would raise our children. We would read to them every night; we would pray with them. We would go to family camps for vacations, you see what I mean. Do not misunderstand either. None of our planning interfered with each child’s individuality either. As a matter of fact, it allowed us to raise them the same within their individual personalities. A good, productive garden is not often left up to chance, and I find, either is a family. What’s your plan.
Before we get too far, let me say here, you can do all the planning in the world, but your child possesses a free will, which he will exercise. Also, without God’s amazing grace, you can do all the planning in the world to no avail. However, neither of these two realities should deter you from having a plan to raise your children.
Secondly, after the seeds where in, every day I checked for two things; growth and obstacles to growth (fungus, not enough water, weeds etc.). I made sure every day there was the appropriate amount of water for optimal growth. I made sure the weeds were pulled, not allowing these unwanted invaders a second to rob my plants of the needed nutrients for growth. I watched for diseases. As soon as I detected a produce destroyer, immediate action was taken to rid the plant of the army of microorganism invaders. If you what produce at the end of the day, you have to put in the time to ensure growth.
Parenting also requires realizing when you have errored and correcting the mistakes. In planning for my raised garden, I miscalculated how much sunlight the plants would receive. Come to find out, it was not near enough for some of the plants to reach their full potential. Solution, move the gardens eight feet to the south, which will give the plants more sunlight. If you want produce, you need adequate amount of sunlight. Do what it takes to maximize “Sunlight.” Point, realize when you have errored and make the corrections. The goal is a healthy, producing plant, not your feelings.
Might I suggest, if you are married and thinking about children and want to get a head start, plant a garden and pay attention to the lessons you learn. You may be saying, I don’t have time for that. You are about to learn lesson 1.