Letting go of the “should” in gardening

My life is quite seasonal. From September - May I’m teaching band part time at 2 homeschool bands and 1 local Catholic school. The “shoulder seasons” between farm life and band life are admittedly challenging. August into September is hardcore harvest season. May is spring concert season, and also planting season.

Through the years, this business has evolved. I too have evolved as a person. In 2020, I started this business with boundless energy and big dreams…but I quickly realized how much I was trying to do would not be sustainable. Through the years, we’ve tried new things, we’ve eliminated things, and we’ve streamlined the process.

For many years, I told myself “I should be out in the garden planting today”. Even on days I was exhausted from yet another spring performance. Even on days where I had a to do list about 500 items long. If it was a nice day I told myself “I should plant today”.

I’m someone who has never been afraid of hard work, but if not reined in, that can be a detriment to my own inner peace. I will work myself until I can’t work anymore, but I will burn myself out to my core.

This spring, I threw my planting “timelines” out the window. My last spring concert was last week, and since then I’ve set small, achievable goals for myself to get things in the ground these past 5 days.

For example, my only goal for myself on Memorial Day was to plant our 25 pounds of seed potatoes. I normally get these in the ground earlier in the spring, but this year I pushed my planting back by a couple weeks. Before noon, Michael and I were done planting our potatoes, and I found I had enough energy to plant even more things.

The rhythms of the farm teach me something new each season. Growing up, the farm taught me valuable life lessons about hard work and delayed gratification. As an adult, the farm teaches me about prioritizing my to do list, saying “no” to myself when I don’t have the capacity to do something, and not letting the “shoulds” of the season dictate my life.

Overall, this spring has been a great one. I’m rediscovering the joy of planting, of new life, and of this new season. I find myself so grateful for the lessons the farm continues to teach me year to year.