Sep
18
The Bounty of the Neglectful Gardener
Posted under Goals and Goal Setting
There was once a gardener. He was an “urban gardener” because although he lived in the city, he still liked to plant fruits and vegetables in small areas and pots in his backyard. For years, his family enjoyed fresh green beans, edamame, tomatoes, okra, peppers, squash, lettuce and blueberries.
One year, however he got busy with other projects. He wanted to write his program and work on his website. Therefore, he had little time to prepare the soil for the coming planting season. Instead, he only prepared the earth for 20 minutes one Saturday then quickly threw some bean seeds into some rows and covered them with soil. He did the same with the cantaloupe seeds and the tomato plants.
As the season progressed, he continued his technical projects. He didn’t water the plants as much as they needed. He didn’t fertilize either. Weeds roamed freely without having someone to pull them. Slugs could feast on the tomatoes before he could pick them. He picked all of 10 small tomatoes. Birds stole all the blueberries without someone to chase them away.
After a few months of nature running its course he was left with one small basket of green beans.
Without the water, the good plants did not thrive. Without the fertilizer, they grew too thin and weak. Since the pests and weeds were allowed to roam freely in his garden, they enjoyed most of the food.
“This is the bounty of neglect,” he wisely thought. Where there could have been bushels of tomatoes for creating pasta sauce, there were only 10. Where there could have been enough green beans to last well into the winter, they were all gone by August. A small harvest is what happens to any farmer who does not do the tasks necessary to uphold his crops. Put another way, he had taken the initial steps, but neglected to follow through.
Technorati Tags: work, tasks, motivation, gardening
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Comments
Brad,
As I was reading this post I kept anticipating an ironic observation that even though the gardner had only made a quick planting and done little, if any, tending that he still reaped a harvest greater than a person who planted nothing at all.
I am the sort of person who is constantly getting involved in new projects and always struggling to finish what I’ve started. My brain is obviously trying to justify my way of life!