Final Thoughts from a Garden Expert

Final Thoughts from a Garden Expert

Gardening expert Lee Reich wrote about planting flowers, vegetables and more on his land for 30 years.

In his final story, he wanted to leave his readers with some advice.

Over the years, he wrote about tomatoes, how to cut flowers and the worries about household pets eating indoor plants.

He said he was happy to write about working in the garden for gardeners of all levels.

He decided¹ to offer eight pieces of information to help people who grow plants at home, whether they do it on a large piece of land or just two or three containers inside.

Organic² matter

Reich said items that were once alive are good to mix into the soil you use to grow plants. This includes leftover³ foods, green clippings, and leaves that fall from trees. They help keep water in the soil and feed microorganisms that help plants.

Do not panic about pests

Yes, Reich, said, some insects can hurt plants. But it is normal for insects and fungi⁵ and other organisms⁴ to hurt your garden. He said people who work with plants need to learn how to accept a little damage. When plants get hurt, he said, they come back in other ways, like growing stronger where they are not injured. He said it is a good idea to be thoughtful⁶ and find a natural way to fight insects before using a chemical treatment.

Trust nature

Reich said "Mother Nature" has been helping⁷ the Earth develop food and plants for a long time. Gardeners, he said, should not be too worried about ground cover that grows naturally. Some people call these weeds.

Reich also noted⁸ that it is important to think carefully about the soil you plant in. Do not put plants that are best in dry parts of the world where it is very wet. Do not put plants that do best in wet conditions where it is very dry.

Take photos and write notes

Each year, he said, it is a good idea to take photos of your garden and write down what you planted, and when you did the work. That way, you can learn from what worked well and what did not. The next year, you can decide what to plant based on your past experience.

Former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson once wrote: "Though an old man, I am a young gardener." His archives show good notes about his gardens.

Do not think like everyone else

Example 1: Some people think pulling weeds from the garden is not fun. But Reich says that is not the right way to think of the job. A good idea is to look at your garden and take the weeds out every three or four days. That way, the work never takes too long. When you change the way you think, he said, a job once seen as difficult can become enjoyable. One other warning? Do not turn over the soil too much. That work often turns over weed seeds that would not grow otherwise.

Example 2: Reich said you should mix and match plants and flowers. There is no reason you cannot plant eggplant, peppers and other vegetables with your flowers. Those plants look nice and the flowers will bring helpful insects like bees to the garden.

Example 3: You can plant fruit trees wherever you want. You do not need an orchard⁹. Many fruit trees look nice by themselves along with producing food that tastes good.

Get help from trusted sources

Reich wrote about plants for 30 years, but sometimes he has questions. In those cases, he searches on the internet, but he centers his searches on information from educational institutions and government agencies¹⁰. Even if the sources are not right 100 percent of the time, most of the time they have good information. It is hard to see the difference, sometimes, between good information and bad when it comes from sources you do not know well.

Grow various plants, especially ones you can eat

Sometimes bad weather can hurt plants. Other times, disease¹¹ can hurt them. If you plant vegetables that are ready to eat at different times of the year, you can make sure that even if there is a problem in August or September, you picked something good to eat earlier in the year. In Reich's experience, one year in the northeastern United States, a sickness late in the summer hurt many tomato plants. But that year, he already picked peppers, corn, kale and other vegetables.

Do not plant too much

You may get advertisements. You may go past a plant store that looks good. Even warm weather early in the year might make you excited to start planting. But Reich says it is better to have a small garden than a large one. When he has friends come over, they admire all his fruits and vegetables. However, he warns, "don't do this at home!"

In the end, Reich said, he may not be writing as much. However, he will never stop working in his garden. He will plant some new items and remove old ones in the next year. For example, he wants to plant rhododendrons and winterberry. He will build another stone wall he can use to support lingonberry and dwarf¹² sweet box. The work never ends.

Even if he is not writing as often, Reich plans to keep writing on his own website – leereich.com. You can visit him there if you want to keep up with his work, and perhaps see photos of his new projects.

He will be working hard, even on the cold days of winter.

Words in This Story

advice – n. an opinion or suggestion about what someone should do

microorganism – n. an extremely small living thing that can only be seen with a microscope

fungi – n. any one of a group of living things (such as molds¹³, mushrooms, or yeasts) that often look like plants but have no flowers and that live on dead or decaying¹⁴ things; the plural¹⁵ of fungus¹⁶

archives – n. a place in which public records or historical materials (such as documents) are kept

mix and match – v. to put different things (such as pieces of clothing) together in different ways

weed – n. a plant that grows very quickly where it is not wanted and covers or kills more desirable¹⁷ plants

orchard – n. a place where people grow fruit trees

admire – v. to look at (something or someone) with enjoyment

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 organic   

adj.有机的，有机物的；有组织的

参考例句：

• Organic farming is expanding everywhere.有机农业正在各地迅速发展起来。
• The organic fertilizer shall keep the soil in good heart.这有机肥一定会使土壤保持肥沃。

3 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

4 organisms   

n.有机物( organism的名词复数 )；有机体；生物；有机体系

参考例句：

• The organisms can be divided into discrete categories. 有机体可分为许多互不相联的种类。
• The cell is the unit of which all living organisms are composed. 细胞是构成一切生物的单位。

5 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

6 thoughtful   

adj.思考的，沉思的，体贴的，关心的

参考例句：

• She is thoughtful for her friends.她很体贴她的朋友们。
• This is a thoughtful essay.这是一篇具有思想性的随笔。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

10 agencies   

n.代理( agency的名词复数 )；服务机构；（政府的）专门机构；代理（或经销）业务（或关系）

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations. 联合国有许多专门机构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The project is funded by the World Bank and other multilateral agencies. 这项计划由世界银行和其他多国机构资助。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

12 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

13 molds   

n. 霉菌

参考例句：

• It provides a good medium for growth of molds. 这为霉菌的生长提供良好的培养基。
• The wind molds the waves. 风造成浪。

14 decaying   

v.（使）腐烂，腐朽( decay的现在分词 )；衰败，衰退，衰落

参考例句：

• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

15 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

16 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

17 desirable   

adj.值得拥有的；可取的，有利的

参考例句：

• Some reasonable adjustments seem desirable.某些合理的调整似乎是可取的。
• Prolonged negotiation was not desirable.拖长了的谈判并不是大家所想要的。