The Control Freak!

From Rachael Warrington — Blog by Rachael Warrington

April 6, 2009

Ask anyone around me and they will tell you I am a control freak. I don’t like to let things just happen. I plan and execute. Usually this works out just fine, but I have had to learn when to pull back and not steamroll those around me.
I truly believe that there is an element of control freak in all of us. Some just bury it deep, others ignore it, and some use it as a club to control others around them. But being a control freak can have it pluses. Gardening is a big plus for the control freak. How about controlling our food source? How about controlling how much chemicals we ingest? How about controlling our impact on the environment? How about taking control of our lives and choosing to be responsible?

I choose to take control of my environment. I can create a compost pile, recycle items from the trash, plant healthy food. I choose to raise said food with out a bunch of man-made, cost ineffective, fertilizer, sprays, or excess water. I choose to raise my food with the entire family involved (and yes my three teenage kids are kicking and screaming as they come along; oh well).

We have started a family project; it is called The Garden. If, as a family member, you choose not to work in the garden then you get to work in the house. If you choose to do neither, you get kitty litter duty! So far we have had no problems.

We are raising our plants from seeds, so our bedroom is literally filled with hundreds of plants. We are now starting to overflow into my son’s bedroom (remember the kitty litter; that means kitties, and they like to chew plants, any kind of plants. So said plants need to be in rooms that kitties can not get into. Hence our bedroom and son’s bedroom.).
We have both heirloom and hybrid varieties. Each kind of plant brings something different to the table. We are growing the regular items, tomatoes, peppers, squash, potatoes etc...next year we will try some more different things.

The back yard has been turned into a full sized garden with raised beds. Spinach, lettuce and Swiss chard have been planted. Beets are coming up. I won’t have to worry about them being contaminated from someone’s feedlot, or manure pile. I can control what I have and how it is grown. My tomatoes will be safe, my peppers will taste great, and I will make killer pico-de-gallo! All from our own garden. I want the control back! I am a control freak and proud of it!