I wanted to grow things.
I wanted life from soil, tomatoes from the sun, basil from my breath.
What I got instead was yellow leaves, dead spinach, and an unexpected phone call to my dad.
“The garden didn’t succeed. But something else did.”
This is the story of how a failed off-grid experiment became a quiet bridge back to my family—one wilted seedling at a time.
🧺 The Beginning: Raised Beds and High Hopes
I built a little container garden on the roof of my building—three 10-gallon fabric pots, a bag of organic soil, and a dream that YouTube had convinced me was easy.
I planted:
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
- Basil
- Ego
It looked amazing for five days. Then things got weird.
🥀 The Withering
- The spinach bolted
- The tomatoes refused to fruit
- The basil got some sort of medieval fungal disease
- I got mad
I googled everything. Tried to fix it all. Sprayed weird vinegar solutions. Moved the pots. Prayed. Ignored. Watered too much. Gave up.
Then I called my dad.
☎️ The Call That Wasn’t About Gardening
My dad’s a retired ag guy. Soil stuff. Never really talked about it when I was growing up. I never cared.
But that day, I found myself asking:
“Do you know what blossom end rot is?”
He laughed. And then he said:
“Let me guess. You planted too close, watered too late, and used a plastic pot without airflow.”
He was right.
🧠 The Shift
That phone call turned into three more. Then a FaceTime where he walked me through composting. Then a visit where we didn’t talk about much except soil pH, worms, and how my grandfather used to grow tomatoes in coffee cans.
We never talked that easily before. But somehow—gardening failure became the neutral ground we didn’t know we needed.
🌿 What I Learned About Life (and Plants)
| Dead Plant Lesson | Real-Life Truth |
|---|---|
| Not everything grows fast | Relationships don’t either |
| Most damage is below the surface | Watering the leaves doesn’t help |
| Crowded roots choke each other | So do people with no space |
| Sunlight isn’t negotiable | You need light, too |
| You can’t force fruit | But you can feed the soil |
🧑🌾 What I Do Differently Now
- I plant less. Tend more.
- I listen to my dad’s stories instead of trying to fix him.
- I compost the bad days. Literally and metaphorically.
- I send photos of my plants—not because they’re perfect, but because he knows what they mean.
🧪 Try This: “Call & Plant” Ritual
- Plant one thing this week. Anything. Seed, cutting, starter kit.
- Call someone who helped shape you—even if the relationship is messy.
- Say:
- “I’m growing something.”
- “It reminded me of you.”
- “Any advice?”
Let it be awkward. Let it grow.
📥 Subscribe to download: “Grow Something, Call Someone” Companion Kit
Includes:
- Printable plant & call tracker
- Emotional growth prompts
- Easy-grow, high-success plant list
- Journal page: “Conversations I never expected to have”
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