I love changing things. I can never just leave things alone, or, you know, maintain them. I have to try to make them better. I’ve landscaped my yard, built a deck, a patio, a pergola, a treehouse… are they Pinterest perfect? Meh. Our family motto is, perfect is the enemy of done. Unless you ask my spouse, in which case, it’s “the key to happiness is lower expectations.”

I built out a new vegetable bed in winter 2020, read some gardening books, and kept coming across some obvious issues. We live in the Livermore valley, where winters are temperate and summers are scorching. There is no snow cover in winter, and frosts are generally mild. Around here, people grow all sorts of cool season crops through the winter. In the summer, we usually get several days over 110 and can get no rain for more than half the year. Watering restrictions are also common. I was missing a book or a website that would just tell me, ‘do this now! It’ll work.’ So I’m testing stuff out. Can I plant peas, radishes, or wheat on Christmas day? Will it work a week later? Can I compost eucalyptus? Can I finish a cute project with a 3 year old?…

The books did all say to start a garden journal, but it’s 2021, so welcome to Outdoor Hedonist. Where perfect is the enemy of done, and the key to happiness is lower expectations.