Ah, To This Day I Still Remember My First Gardening Experience. It Wasbr Such A Disaster That I Didnt Think I Would Ever Want To Garden Again. Ibr Almost Decided To Turn My Casual Hobby Into The Most Rage-inducing Topicbr You Could Possibly Bring Up To Me.br Br It All Started A Few Weeks After I Moved In To My First House. I Wasbr Excited Just To Have My Own Grass To Mow, Since I Had Been In Apartmentsbr And Condos For Quite A While. In Between Plans To Paint Walls And Renovatebr The Inside To Exactly How I Like, I Thought It Would Be A Good Idea Tobr Start A Fruit Garden So That I Could Have Some Fresh Produce And Put Mybr Yard To Use. At That Point I Didnt Really Know Anything At All Aboutbr Gardening. But Still In My Spunky Youthful Years, I Decided I Didnt Needbr Help. How Hard Could It Be To Start A Garden And Grow Stuff? After All, Itbr Happens In Nature All The Time And Nobody Even Has To Do Anything.br Br I Already Had A Grassless Patch In My Yard Where It Looked Like Thebr Previous Owner Had Attempted A Garden. But Any Attempt They Had Madebr Turned Out To Be An Utter Travesty. The Area Was Full Of Rocks And Weeds,br With No Signs Of Any Agreeable Plants. I Spent Several Hours Of Workbr Spread Over Several Days To Clear Out The Entire Area, Leaving Nothing Butbr Dirt. At That Point, However, I Didnt Realize The Difference Betweenbr Dirt And Soil. I Was Dealing With Barren, Hard, Nutritionless, Andbr Unforgiving Land.br Br I Made Some Attempt At Making My Garden Look Nice; Although I Think Evenbr Martha Stewart Would Have Had Difficulties. I Took Some Stained Boardsbr That Were Sitting In My Basement (quite Convenient, No?) And Used Them Asbr A Border For My Garden, To Keep Out All The Pests That Couldnt Jump Morebr Than A Foot (I Figured I Would Be Safe From Lawn Gnomes). I Used The Pilebr Of Rocks I Had Collected From The Garden To Make A Creepy Shrine Lookingbr Thing In Front Of It. I Dont Know What I Was Thinking When I Did That.br Br I Went To The Store That Very Day, And Picked Out Whatever Looked Tasty.br Strawberries? Sure! Watermelon? Yeah! I Hacked Away A Hole In Thebr Rock-hard Ground And Poked The Seed In. After That, I Think I Watered Itbr Faithfully Every Day For Several Weeks Before Realizing That It Was Notbr Going To Grow Anything. But Even After I Had That Realization, I Continuedbr To Water In Hopes That My Seeds Would Pull A Last Minute Sprout On Me. Butbr I Knew There Was No Hope, And I Was Heartbroken. After All Those Hours Ofbr Pulling Up Weeds And Tossing Rocks Into A Pile, I Had No Fruit To Show Forbr My Labor.br Br So, Feeling Dejected And Betrayed, I Logged Onto The Internet And Searchedbr For A Guide To Gardening. I Quickly Ran Across A Site That Led Me Tobr Realize The True Skill Required For Gardening. It Was Then I Learned Aboutbr Soil Consistency, Nutrients, Ideal Watering Conditions, Seasons, And Allbr Those Things. After I Read Up On My Area And How To Grow Fruits, I Learnedbr Exactly What To Do. I Learned How To Get The Ideal Soil, When To Plant Thebr Seeds, How Much To Water, Etc. Just A Night Of Browsing The Internet Andbr Printing Off Sources, And I Was Totally Ready For The Next Planting Season.br Br If Youre In The Position I Was, And Youre Just Itching To Start A Newbr Garden I Urge You To Learn From My Mistake. Make Sure You Do Plenty Ofbr Proper Research On The Types Of Plants Youre Trying To Grow, Along Withbr The Climate. Spend Money On Good Soil, Good Fertilizer, And Good Gardenbr Tools. Hopefully You Dont Have To Go Through The Emotional Disaster Thatbr I Went Through.
