THIS gardening column talks about many and varied things.
One can’t talk particularly of just growing things in the ground.
Gardening encompasses many facets of the growth of the plants, even plants themselves, what soils, how one should grow and look after them, and how to go about getting the best outcome from your garden ventures.
Weather, the rain, watering, all have a bearing on the final crop.
It’s not just luck that a gardener can produce outstanding vegetables or flowers. It must be a combination of several things to get it exactly right.
Other things come into play as well. Soils play an important part in these endeavours – its make-up and consistency, wet or dry, heavy or sandy, rich or poor.
It’s so easy to plant in the wrong place, at the wrong time or the wrong season and then expect a reward for your endeavours.
Even additives play a part in the outcome – fertilisers and growth products, pellets for water retention, soil conditioners and many other combinations available on the market today.
Often nurseries will have beautiful flowers to get you in, grown in a closed environment away from the weather.
You purchase the plant and slowly watch it die because it’s been put in the garden exposed to the hot sun, or maybe a windy area or even just the wrong soil, just not what it’s used to. I think we’ve all done this.
Gardening is also about the environment, trees and weather conditions.
How people have thought about innovative ideas, how to grow things differently, genetics, growing plants with assorted colours, experiments with grafting and genetically modifying some plants to produce more of a crop or build a resistance to some disease that might affect other plants.
This column has mentioned photomining and its application in industry, helping to gather up particles of precious minerals by the planting of crops that will soak up the residue and when harvested, produce gold or silver or many other precious metals for industry.
Our beautiful trees, available in so many types today – ones that grow tall, ones that flower, trees that feed the birds and animals who rely on their generosity to be able to live.
Still a type of gardening. It’s not all about plants per se.
So, as you read this column each week and its varied content, one hopes that the reader will appreciate that learning how and what other people are doing will open our eyes to a greater understanding of that small word with a huge meaning. GARDENING!
Till next time.
