Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

Don’t sweat the small stuff

By now, warm weather has cranked the garden in high gear. Plants are growing, flowers are flowering, and vegetables are making their way into the kitchen. It’s the time of plenty but it can also be a time when all the tasks in the garden seem overwhelming.

With so much to do, gardening can easily turn from pleasure to chore. But, it doesn’t have to. Focus on the priorities – cut flowers for bouquets, gourmet meals to serve family and friends – this is what gardening should be all about.

I was reminded about how easy it is to panic about things that pop up in the garden unexpectedly when a friend sent me a picture of a strange fungus that appeared around her squash. It looked horrible and was surrounding the poor seedlings!

Turns out, it was totally benign. Dog Vomit Fungus. Yes, that is the actual name of the fungus. It only grows on decaying material (lots of compost in the garden) and although it grew around her squash, the seedlings were showing now sign of stress and were growing through it quite happily.

Ants seem to inspire a similar reaction in many folks. Even though they are amazing soil aerators (up there with earthworms) and help naturally rototill the subsoil in the garden, as soon as they appear above ground, some gardeners go nuts! Although they have been known to farm aphids for their honeydew, ants themselves do not pose a threat to living plants and are also quite benign.

Of course, if you have carpenter ants or fire ants, there is reason to be concerned and if that is the case, reach for your borax and icing sugar. Mix them in equal parts and either sprinkle or leave in a shallow container where the ants cross. The borax will be taken back to the queen and ant numbers should decrease within a few days.

Last, but not least, the lowly dandelion seems to instill an irrational ire in some folks, especially when their yellow heads poke out above the lawn.  In my own experience, dandelions grow where grass is either cut too short or where there is a nutrient deficiency. The taproot of the dandelion is a fantastic nutrient accumulator and will allow the plant to flourish where grass can’t.

How did I conquer dandelions in my own garden? I began eating them. Sautéed greens with onion, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar are to die for. Once I started wanting them, the greens soon disappeared. I never had enough!

So when the summer months have you rushing indoors for fear of work, don’t sweat it. Focus on the positive, enjoy the pleasures of the outdoors, and have a relaxing drink. Roasted dandelion root makes a mean coffee substitute, I hear.

The photo provided by Ms. Sharon Hanna, author of The Book of Kale