Gardening in 2008 or NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS (insert dramatic music here!)

It’s that time of the year again when everyone thinks of how they can do things better than last year. What can they improve? What should they never, ever do ever again? People call them RESOLUTIONS (insert dramatic music here). While there are certainly things that I can do better and improve on, most of my goals remain the same. So here are some of my gardening RESOLUTIONS (again, insert dramatic music)!

1. Go organic as much as possible. I left a little leeway here by saying as much as possible but the truth is most of what I do is organic. Sure I’ve fertilized houseplants with synthetic stuff before but I don’t do that anymore due to the salt content in the chemicals. It can leave the soil unpalatable for plants. I don’t want that. We like happy plants. I plan on using lots of compost or organic fertilizers instead. Organic gardening is much better for the environment and that’s better for everyone.

2. Finish what I start! I wonder how many other people have this one on their lists. Probably in the millions, billions or trillions. I have a tendency to get most of the job done then I either get interrupted or tired and say I’ll finish this tomorrow. Tomorrow then becomes another tomorrow and so on.

3. Grow as much as I can in the garden to feed our family. The idea of a sustainable garden that allows us to be self-sufficient for a time sounds great. I don’t want to buy tomatoes when I can walk in the back yard and get them for free! OK maybe not completely free but for pennies on the dollar. We’ll have to water and get the dirt for the raised beds so there will be some expenses, but the benefit will outweigh the cost.

4. Learn more about everything I can. There is always more to learn about gardening, the environment, landscape design, and all sorts of other gardening subjects that I could list. I’ve learned from books, blogs and all sorts of websites. My problem, and its not a bad problem, is that the more I learn the more I want to learn! There are so many experts out there to get information from. That’s one reason I’m enjoying the blogging community so much! Thank you to all those other bloggers out there for sharing your information and experiences!

5. Enjoy gardening and enjoy life. The first one isn’t so much a resolution as it is a continuation of what I already do. The second is something I need to figure out better. Like so many other people out there I get caught up in the events of life and don’t take the time to appreciate and enjoy it before it passes me by. I’d like to step outside the moment more and appreciate everything for what it is. After all it only happens once.

There are more things I could probably add to this list but these are the big RESOLUTIONS (insert dramatic music here again!) for me. I hope that everyone has a joyful 2008!