Gardening: A Love/Hate Relationship

I like gardening.  I hate gardening.  Okay, let me start over...

I love fresh produce from my own garden.  I want to grow those few vegetables which I enjoy such as squash, okra, green beans, peppers, tomatoes, sweet corn (I want it cut off the cob) and potatoes -- even a few onions.

I also want fruit trees and a vineyard.  I want cherries, peaches, apricots, apples, plums and grapes -- all grown by my own hands.  If I lived in a tropical climate I would add oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit to the list.  I would even try growing bananas, mangoes and pineapple if given the chance.

All of those things are "wants" that come with a lot of hard work.  I love the fruits of my labor, but sometimes am not too thrilled by the labor itself.  Is it a lazy streak?  Not really, because when it needs to be done, I do it.  I'm just not excited about a day in the hot sun with rivulets of sweat making tracings in the dust on my face.

I suspect that's why so few people are involved in agriculture.  It requires a lot of work -- even with modern farming techniques and the application of advanced technology.  The hours are long, the sun is hot, and it seems like everything is out to destroy your hard work -- like a hail storm, or insects, or some exotic disease that you didn't know existed until your plants had withered and died.

I suppose agriculture provides the perfect metaphor for life in general.  We work hard so that we might enjoy the fruits of our labor only to see them stripped away by some unexpected event such as illness, or accident.  Sometimes its just a matter of timing in a volatile economy.

I once had the opportunity to visit with a "past-his-prime but well-known" country singer who owned a ranch in my neighborhood.  He said, "Can you imagine?  I spent my whole life working my tail off so I could get off the farm only to buy one when I finally made it."

Agriculture is in our DNA.  It brought us civilization and wealth.  It is the foundation of every successful economy.  It takes a lot of work, but the rewards are worth it.  Now, I'm thinking a perfect summer southern meal of fried pork chops, fried squash, fried okra, mashed potatoes and cream gravy would just about be perfect....(I know fried isn't the healthiest, but it tastes fantastic.)