Coconuts & Lettuce

It's SIMPLE they said.. Plant some things, water it, & watch it grow!

Truth is My First Garden never saw the light of day & yes it broke my heart. I did not attempt to grow, plant, farm, garden, anything for at least 5 maybe 6 years! Yes I know dramatic.

But the truth is I have no idea why they didn't grow. I planted them correctly; close to the top of the soil, & I didn't pack them down.

I water them for weeks; planted them @ the correct time of year. I even put them in an area where the sun was sure to touch everyday.

I guess it was such a let down @ the time b/c I was pregnant with my first child & I was extremely happy or extremely sad every other 5 minutes. I look back & laugh on this now b/c I was so young & so hopeful.

After this I stuck to house plants that quickly taught me we are not your friends, & they would just die on me repeatedly. I watered them enough so I thought, but I was kind of lazy when it came to watering them & once they left & my Husband would throw them out I would mourn them b/c I knew deep down it was my fault & I had killed them.

So for years I went without plants. Although I love plants; green, beautiful, huge, & flowing plants everywhere this was a dream I just couldn't get out of my head.

Until I grew up a little; LIFE happened & I went through it. Some times tougher than the others. I learned that people change, grow, & leave. Almost like plants, but not quite. LIFE taught me "ONLY THING IN LIFE THAT YOU CAN CONTROL ARE THE THINGS YOU GIVE TO LIFE". I decided that would be LIFE, SUBSTANCE, & NUTRIENTS. I can control this; I can do this!

& so I did...

I woke up 1 day & decided that I was  going to be the 4th or 5th generation in My Family (On My Dad's side) to FARM. I mean these people made a living off of this; supported whole families off of this. 

With enough Love & Support I did a little something something. It helped out a lot that My Husband was a Landscaper & My Farmer Father was a phone call away! 

My 2 boys contributed to being farms hands that worked for gloves & icecream. One of my little babies actually stuck around just for treats out of The Compost. (It took Me forever to get him to understand that those fruits were dying & could no longer taste good to him.)

So I said ALL OF THIS to say this Gardening, Planting, Farming, Growing is something you got to feel in your soul. B/c a good day on the FARM is exactly that "SOUL FOOD" (sometimes literally).

So this PLANT is  the same PLANT in the 1st picture up top! Only difference is when we transplanted the plant from our old house to our new house; We surrounded it with our soil that we had been composting for several months. Just so happened in The Compost there was a coconut that we waited to long to eat/drink. 

So the Coconut & Lettuce had been sharing this black container for about 7 months now. Of course the coconut hasn't broken down much @ all (they take a little while longer to DECOMPOSE).

So with my genius idea I decided to remove The Coconut from the pot with The Lettuce, & instantly this is what it did!!!

Instantly I panicked...

I went & got some #starbucks coffee grains; well b/c everyone loves #starbucks (right).

So I added some of course to My Compost, but sprinkled some of it in to My Plants also.

It did okay, but still no drastic change.

So My next great idea was to add more of the soil from out of My Compost into the planters. I even put in more fruits & veggies b/c in My Mind with The Coconut gone it was lacking a somewhat FRESH source of NUTRIENTS!

I didn't know if The Coconut provided some kind of nutrients or maybe just support.

Whatever it was; after a little time it hit me; this didn't happen until I removed The Coconut. So immediately I dug into the compost & found that coconut & put it back!!!

I watered it & gave it more dirt!

Still no reaction!

First time I've been depressed about planting in a long time (I may have even cried).

The next day nothing; so My Son & I moved them into the sun! Still NOTHING!!! 

Then that night as I'm pulling up to the house @ 3 a.m. (from work) they were back standing @ attention green again. It was SO WEIRD! (but such a relief.) 

It was like they had made a bond w/ The Coconut & were angry or maybe even sad b/c it was gone!

This was a LESSON I'm glad I learned.

 I believe there are no rules to LIFE. Just LOVE & if You LOVE It; then It will grow. Sure You can buy a ton of books & read blog after blog, but no one can tell you what you feel & how it truly works for you & your plants. 

We just know what works for us & our plants. Don't get me wrong always take tips & pointers that can better your plants, but follow your intuition on The LIFE You are CREATING!

I'M PLANTING & GROWING IN A DIFFERENT KIND OF WAY!

MY WAY!

& IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING JUST FINE FOR ME!

COCONUT & LETTUCE!

PLANTS & GARDENING TEACHING ME LIFE LESSONS 1 DAY @ A TIME!

I SURE DO PRAY THAT EVERYONE FINDS THE COCONUT TO THEIR LETTUCE!