Meet David, Lissa and Liz

Yesterday when this man woke up, he was not an organic gardener. Today he is. Because today he holds a packet of heirloom lettuce seeds in his hands. Because today he has identified a piece of his property that he thinks gets at least six hours of sun a day. Because today he knows what it feels like to hold a pitchfork in his hands and smell the sweetness of wheat straw.

Meet David. He is on my Take Five team. He is an actor, a fellow vegetarian, and a friend of mine. He wants to move away from processed foods. And he is now on his way to a new way of relating to the earth.

Meet Lissa. She lives in Saratoga Springs, NY, where the ground is currently frozen solid and covered with snow. She lives in a townhouse with a small plot of land in front and to the side (she got the lucky corner spot). She imagines one day being completely sustainable, and is working toward that goal, no matter how small her piece of the world. She joins David as the "Front Yard Gardeners" on my team. But she travels a great deal, and that is sure to be a challenge. Lissa is anxious to get started now. Helping her with her garden when she is in a very different climate from mine will be my challenge.

Meet Liz. Oh, dear, where to start with Liz. Liz and Tim moved to northeast Georgia from Massachusetts recently and are farming a piece of land while building a house on it. They drive an hour each way each day right now to take care of the cows and pigs. And, did I mention that they've never done anything remotely like this before? According to Liz, she had to plead for a dog when she was growing up. Animal husbandry is new, new, new to them. Liz's challenge? How to garden in a brand new climate. All the locals to which she had spoken told her the first planting date was in April. If she had waited until then, she would have missed an entire season here!

This week I saw David and spoke with Lissa and Liz on the phone. I asked them all to think about what their intention was in wanting to start an organic garden, because knowing our intention is a wonderful way to feel a deeper level of commitment. And I tried to share what I knew and to tailor the advice to their situations.

But, you know what? I realized that all these years when I thought I was learning about gardening, I was really learning about myself--and changing. How I used to plot and plan and diagram and plant in straight, neat rows on the exact dates that were recommended. But how I now try to feel out what I think a plant needs and when I think it needs it. How I let more wild things grow. How I let plants linger long past their harvest dates. How I've gotten more curious. How I do more science experiments. How I am far, far, far more patient. How I just let things be.

And so, off we go. I still have room for two more new organic gardeners on my team. Email me at freshbakedcopy@mindspring.com if you are interested, even if it's too early to begin planting where you live. It's not too early to think and dream and want. Choose your Take Five Team, if you are already an organic gardener. And check back for periodic updates on David, Lissa and Liz's new gardens.

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Meet David, Lissa and Liz