So my husband tells me that calling myself a brown thumb is somewhat misleading, thinking instead of a brown nose. Well, I’m not a brown nose-er, and certainly don’t want to get the two confused! I am a brown THUMB, as in, the opposite of a GREEN thumb.
I call myself this as I invariably end up killing anything I put in the ground. I don’t know what gives me this talent. I suppose you might call it a gift.
In pursuit of trying to live sustainably, organically, and above all cheaply, I have, on numerous occassions, attempted to plant fruits and vegetables in my many gardens. I must admit, I exaggerate my brown thumb status, as I have in fact had some successes. Mainly in the area of herbs, and pumpkin. If I couldn’t get that right, then God help me!
My love of gardening started when I was young. I spent a lot of time in my parent’s back yard looking after my guinea pigs and enjoying the outdoors, and I couldn’t help but notice the lack of productivitiy of that garden. The weeds, the unused compost, the enormous gum tree blocking the sun. My mother’s attempts at growing anything were always dismal, and so, I never really grew up knowing how to grow produce. This did not stop me from trying!
I started with herbs and had some success…. although its hard to fail at growing mint – especially when its already established a territory. However I also tried basil with great gusto, but failed again at parsley (seriously, who KILLS parsley?!)
Next, we began planting small tomatoes, and this was a roaring success, especially with our two year old. She would pick them and eat them before they reached the salad bowl, but in my eyes, it was a wonderful thing to witness.
Next, we tried out hand at pumpkin, which actually happened by chance. We transplanted a seedling from our worm farm into a heap of compost hoping for the best. What resulted were 3 healthy butternut pumpkins. Yum!
Along they way, however, I have killed blueberries, broccoli, tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, zucchini, carrots, beetroot and more. I always attributed my failures to the fact that I had little to no control over my garden beds – we were renters for most of my attempts to date. But now, garden books and Pintrest in hand, I am ready to have a go at turning my brown thumb around! Alright garden, lets get cracking!
Confessions of a Brown Thumb 