IT’S UNBE-LEAF-ABLE!
By Su Natasha Mohamad
"You may not have what it takes yet to grow anything or maybe you had a series of dreadful plant-funerals, but as long as you give yourself a continuous try, there’s always hope."
The green genes
I’ve been a great “success” at growing nothing for the past many decades. However, that has changed since I started living in Sheffield. But before I get to the point where I share all the glory and great moments in my green journey, I should at least brief you about two great people in my life who I failed miserably these past many years (chuckles). I promise you this isn’t dreadfully appalling although it may sound terrible at this point.
My mom and my late grandmother, both are great women. My grandmother made traditional cookies and cakes (which are immensely laborious) for a living. She also sewed her own dresses and long skirts. My mom who is a teacher has this exquisite taste in interior designing and home decoration. There’s a bunch of furniture back home that has been in the history long before my parents were born. Both my mom and my grandmother are blessed with many skills and on top of all that, also excellent at gardening. My mom used to make some side income selling roses which she bred in our little garden. My grandmother had a large herb garden. Meanwhile I might have inherited some good-cook skills but unfortunately, the green genes were not properly copied into my DNA.
So I grew up never being able to grow anything. I remember one time when I was young, I helped my late grandma at her garden and in the following weeks, the plant wilted. She frowned at the sight that only my plant wilted and hers didn’t. Even though she didn’t directly say it’s my fault, she did try to explain it by saying “you have a warm hand, that’s why the plant dried up”; but we all know the meaning behind these lines. An ancient saying goes: “Those who have a warm hand are good at cooking but terrible with planting”. I was quite bummed by that but I managed to turn it into something good. I use that excuse to escape from helping my mom in her garden. It works most of the time (chuckles).
Journey begins with spring onions
More than a year ago when I started my PhD, I thought it was time to give gardening another shot. What I recall from my mom’s gardening tip (read: nagging) is that succulents have a strong survival rate. So I purchased 3 pots of mini cactuses.
Then many months later, I thought I should try growing something that I could eat. So I tried first with spring onions. I placed two cuts of spring onions with their roots in a Starbuck’s coffee cup. At that time I also had banana peels, so I thought I’m being a “genius” by creating some sort of banana-sustainable-growth media where I placed the banana peels at the bottom of the cup. Then I filled it with water.
Now for the glorious record: the spring onions grew tall. I was extremely psyched and almost patted my own shoulder :D Overjoyed by it, I left the spring onions outside thinking they need some fresh air (yes, I’m hilarious that way). However, it doesn’t get exciting anymore after that, at least not for me. I wasn't at all aware that slugs love feasting on the same plant we enjoy at lunch. So now, the Starbucks cup became Slug-bucks hang out spot. Sigh! Picture my dismay.
SHEFFYield project - beacon of hope!
After the devastating failure yet again, there is this Sheff-Yield hydroponics webinar by Harry Wright. That was the first seminar I attended as a Grantham Scholar and it was my beacon of hope. I started again and this time with hydroponics. Up until now, there have been few ups and downs but there’s also healthy peppermint and a handful of spring onions.
I then mustered the courage to grow coriander, radish, carrots and a few types of berries in soil. My carrots are starting to sprout but too early to be overjoyed just yet (but you can tell I am excited! :D). My coriander has grown taller than 20cm. A few days ago, I started seeding some flower bulbs. At the moment, I am hoping that my Begonia, Gladiolus, Crocosmia, Calochortus, Liatris and Dahlia will bloom in the next coming weeks.
Gardening: journey or adventure?
So what I want to truly say is - you may not have what it takes yet to grow anything or maybe you had a series of dreadful plant-funerals, but as long as you give yourself a continuous try, there’s always hope. I honestly feel that the best part of my kitchen is my mini hydroponic garden even when I only have spring onions at the time. Now that I started growing outside too, I love my kitchen and backyard. If you are a rookie and want to start something else besides spring onion, you can try with microgreens which will pair well with your salad.
Gardening is a collection of journeys. I see gardening as an adventure where you do something you can’t control. So you have to heighten your senses, you need to pay attention and you can’t be a visitor to planting, you have to be a part of the system. If I can do this, I bet you could excel too! P.S.: My cactuses are still alive, phew! :D