I like to garden. In some locations I've been more successful than others. You have to Know your Cipher. My previous home, the ground was rocky so unless I was going to put in raised beds... which I don't agree with. Seems too trendy and unnatural... or have the rocks removed.... too expensive for what I was striving to achieve. And my neighbors and their dogs were too close for comfort. So I resorted to containers.
In my Current space, the house is on a corner lot and the backyard is small with non-existent sunlight. The only place to plant a garden is in a public area. BUT.... my neighbors are a bunch of punk bitches who complain to the city over the smallest foolishness.... the grass isn't cut to their specifications, the gutters are full, there is debris on my roof. Why the fuck is my property their business? And city complaints come with city fines. We refuse to pay said fines because the city refuses to divulge the names of the complainers. So... Containers.....
I have a bunch of houseplants too. I have spider plants, trees, snake plants, etc. A few months ago, I acquired some large pots. I broke up my snake clusters and put some in the new bigger pots and some in the pots they were accustomed to, just thinned out. You know what happened? The plants that went in the bigger pots are now bigger plants. They had babies and doubled in height as well as thickness. The thinned out parts in the same pots have regrown to the size they were originally, but they didn't get any taller. I haven't repotted my trees in at least 10 years and you know what? They are at the same height today as they were 5 years ago. You know why? They have gotten as big as their pot allows. They are still alive but they aren't getting bigger. But I'm okay with that. They are indoor trees after all. I don't need for them to be bigger than they are.
Here is the thing with containers... A plant will only grow as large as the container permits. Think on that for a minute. Let it soak in all your nooks and crannies. If you have a plant that should grow large, yet you stick it in a small container... what happens? The plant's growth is stunted and chances are won't do what you want it to do when you want it done. Fruiting plant won't fruit. Rooted plants won't prosper. Sometimes the plant will just up and die. You put that same kind of plant into a container that's big and spacious, you will not only get what you wanted but over abundance of what you were growing. The plant will actually volunteer to make more plants. That phenomenon is applicable outside of horticulture as well....
You have 8 children but live in a 1 bedroom apartment. Is there room for the children to do what they need to do to become functional adults? It may be fine when they are babies (And I'm being generous), but what happens when puberty sets in? You gonna let boys and girls all sleep in the same bed?
You have a job and you make $15k/year. That may be enough if you are a high school student working part time and living with your parents. Or a retiree, who's house is paid for, and receiving SS, pensions and supplementation from your children. But what happens if you are parents to the above listed 8 children? Is it still enough?
You are in a relationship with a prison inmate serving a life sentence. Now he might be a good man in a bad situation, but what can he offer you and your 8 children other than kind words? There is a dude at the Parliament looking at you with kindness in his eyes. He, has a 6 bedroom house, a job pulling down 6 figures before the decimal and a generous nature. I'm not saying you should leave your inmate, but what kind of pot do you find your self and what are you growing? Where does the yield look brighter?
Where are you living? Where are you working? What kind of relationship are you in? Look at those situations carefully and ask.... “Is your pot too small for your goals?” Are you trying to plant carrots in a container that's too shallow for them to grow?
Peace
Posts
