He was as big as the broadside of a barn and his frazzled beard looked like something you’d pull out of your sink drain when it’s clogged beyond function. This guy looks at me, for a second I think he’s going to assault me for making eye contact, but he says, “Where’re your pansies?” I pointed the flowers out, they were on sale because they’re out of season. He disappeared around the corner and I heard him bellow, “What the fuck does a pansy look like?”

I walked away. I had been having a rough day and wasn’t inclined to help a bellowing bear with gardening. A few minutes later the gentleman walks by with a massive heap of yellow pansies. The cold weather kind. I said, “Oh, those are my favorite ones It’s my favorite shade of yellow.” He looked at them and grinned this disarmingly toothless smile, “Yeah,” he says, “My boss wants me to plant them at his mom’s house.”

“It’s a great way to spend a chilly afternoon though, huh?” I asked, and he stopped for a moment to consider his reply which was, “It beats the hell out of jackhammering on a bridge all day.” This struck me as curious and I filled in the blanks in my head.

I decided the guy looked like he was named Phil.

So Phil the Pansy Planter was working on an as-we-need-you schedule for a small construction crew, family operation type of gig. Phil is getting on in years and even though he knows his way around a sledgehammer he’s not exactly first in line for high-profile work. But Phil’s boss likes Phil plenty, and he finds little odd jobs to keep Phil making a few bucks.

One of those jobs is having Phil plant flowers at the boss’s mother’s house. Not just any flower, no, these were pansies. Fucking pansies, the queerest sounding flower out there. Phil wasn’t happy about it. But as he figured out what the fuck a pansy was he decided that the colors were actually not all that bad, especially the yellow. It was a good yellow.

So he grabbed them and he bought them and he followed the directions to his boss’s mother’s house, and he deciphered the shitty description his boss provided of where to plant the flowers. He picked up the D-handle shovel from the shed and he broke ground and he dug the hole wide and deep enough to plant the pansies proper. He got down on his knees, and as he removed the flowers from their plastic cells he hears a bird call in the background.

Just a bird, right? No. It’s the first time Phil listened to a bird since he was a kid. I mean, really listened. He looks around and spots it, it’s a robin. It wasn’t singing, it was chirping. For a few seconds Phil remembered when he was 11 years old and climbing trees with his friends at the park during the baseball game because he was never really into the whole sports thing, tree climbing was more in his area of interest. So Phil allowed himself a brief smile. The damp soil of the pansy pack felt good on his hand, which is interesting by itself because he didn’t even notice how it felt before. Phil packed the flowers into the ground and backfilled the hole with his bare hands. The rocks are rough on his fingers but his hands are tough enough that he shouldn’t feel a thing.

Phil’s done gardening before he knows it, and he stands with a grunt of exertion. The flowers were planted. A knock on the window from his boss’s mom reveals a thumbs up; she approves of the work. Phil waved and returned the shovel to the shed, hopped in his car and leaves. He circled the block once so he could see the flowers in the ground from the road side, and he felt damn proud of the work he did. “Those are some fine fuckin’ pansies,” he said.

And a few times a week Phil drove around that block. He’d go out of his way to make the trip to check out how the flowers are doing.

Did any of this happen?

Maybe, maybe not. Could’ve been some fanciful gardener thinking, hoping more fellas find the satisfaction of planting a garden. I like to think a fair bit of it was based in fact. I’ve had no shortage of customers and clients who were once trepidatious first-time gardeners. They return for plants, gardening advice, and a chance to brag to somebody about their newfound hobby.

I’m pretty clearly biased about my support for gardening, but the basic point of all of this is to encourage you to try something new and different. Forget about a New Year’s resolution, do it because that’s what grown-ass men (and women) do. You expand your horizons, you try something new and different, you learn from your failures as much as your successes.

After all, we only get one go at this big, bad bitch. Might as well make it worthwhile.

The post Gardening: Expanding Horizons With Something New appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

“A Buddhist friend taught me a trick about savoring the moment; pop a single M&M in your mouth and savor it for as long as you can. Suddenly a tiny piece of candy has tremendously more volume than a handful of the stuff.”

As I hopped in my car and put on my seat belt, she leaned down and said, “You know, your 21st is the last birthday you’re going to look forward to. After this, they come faster and faster every year.” She had a wistful shimmer in her eyes, and my enthusiasm for the evening was dialed back a notch.

I don’t remember that evening, but I remember the advice she gave me. It’s been a phrase I’ve had in the back of my head, here and there, since I first heard it ten years ago.

A few days ago I watched a clip from an interview with Bill Murray. He answers the question, “What do you want that you don’t have yet?”in a candid, honest way. To summarize his response in a few words he replies, “To be more aware of where I am right now.” Or take Garth Algar’s succinct advice from Wayne’s World.

Murray’s answer had no mystical hogwash. It was not a reply tinged in regret or soaked in overly sentimental wishing. His aspiration is a full awareness of the moment, as many moments as possible. But how do achieve this kind of awareness?

There’s an old trick a Buddhist friend taught me on learning how to savor the moment; pop a single M&M in your mouth and savor it for as long as you can. Reflect on the tastes, the composition, and the interaction it has on your tongue and your teeth.

Suddenly a single piece of candy thoughtfully eaten has tremendously more volume than a scarfed-down handful of the stuff. A clear comparison to observing a single moment in your life is implied here, but I’ll let you draw those lines yourself.

My own method for practicing awareness is spending time in my garden. Attentive readers on F24 will probably recognize me as “that plant guy” (a distinction I hold with pride, thank you), so there’s no surprise that my own bit of wisdom here involves growing a garden of any scale.

It’s impossible to spend time among the plants I’ve grown and fostered and not be aware of the moment. The cool feeling of an emerald-green leaf on my finger tips draws me wholly to that moment. Appreciating the delicate flowers on my impatiens contrasting with the burgundy hues of a heuchera shuts out pestering thoughts and anxious anticipation of the future.

Gardening a small window box offers the same level of focus and awareness, a sort of surrender to the moment. A few minutes of gardening offers us a chance to step away from the craziness of our lives and catch our god damn breath.

After the Bill Murray interview finished I thought back to that time my boss offered her bit of wisdom on aging. I’d always taken her input as a hard truth, sort of a tough love measure of sagacity. It wasn’t a cruel thing, but it wasn’t kind.

For the record, she was correct; the years do go by faster the older you get. Our goal is to be aware of every moment we have, because we only have so many.

Spend some time thinking on the ruminations of Mister Bill Murray and the lesson from an old Italian tree farmer. And if you’re feeling adventurous, start a little garden while you’re at it; there’s no better way for practicing awareness.

Except eating a single M&M.

The post How a Single M&M Can Help You Live in Each Moment appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

“Why are we less than happy? What about a reliable income, food in the fridge, and enough free time to practically meld with the new Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon game guarantees that we have so much trouble sleeping? The cure is some honest labor, and some euphoria-inducing long runs.”

Humans won a contest we weren’t supposed to win. Our food is comfortably at grocery stores (at least in the developed world), our movement from A to B is almost entirely mechanical, and we are free to sit around and enjoy massive amounts of ass-fattening free time. And yet most people, when asked how they’re doing, shrug and say the ubiquitous “Eh, not bad.”

Why are we less than happy? What about a reliable income, food in the fridge, and enough free time to practically meld with the new Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon game guarantees that we have so much trouble sleeping?

The cure is some honest labor, and some euphoria-inducing long runs. Hitting the gym and the treadmill are alternatives, but they fall short in the satisfaction department. After all, when we’re finished with our squats, we put the plates back and walk away from the rack, leaving it just the way we found it. Running for thirty-minutes on a treadmill is an exercise in tedium, unless you watch TV to take your mind off of the boredom.

Imagine instead the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment when you’re swinging an ax through a log; you start with a pile of big logs and finish with a stack of small ones. Grab a sledge hammer and destroy that old cement panel in the back yard that’s been driving you nuts. Pick up a shovel and spade and dig out that garden bed in the bed, turning over useless sod and replacing the patch with some vegetables. Hell, buy twenty-five cinder blocks and carry them from side of the yard to the other. A wheelbarrow and a project list beats any gym routine.

And running? Get off the treadmill and head outside. Yes, even when it’s hot. When you’re outside, don’t worry about pace or capping your distance at a predetermined number. Just run, explore the neighborhood, push yourself past your limits and don’t return until you feel like you’ve earned it.

Something magic happens when you embrace the misery of long running. As exhaustion sets in, and you’ve depleted your store of mental tricks to keep moving, you can find yourself suddenly reinvigorated. Your body becomes weightless, your lungs and heart are working at peak efficiency, and your brain releases an endorphin surge; you just experienced a running high. Nothing else in the world of fitness compares to this sensation, and you’re a Hell of a lot more likely to get there when you’re long running outside rather than on a treadmill.

The cure to modern maladies like a daily malaise is honest work, and endurance-straining running. Invest in some basic yard tools and make some backyard gardening and patio improvements your new exercise, even if its just for a while. If you can’t afford to do this, or don’t have the space, consider volunteering with a group of people who maintain trails in parks. It’s free, and you still have that “Look what I did!” satisfaction. More importantly you develop that nigh-mythical thing known as “functional strength”, the kind of strength our forefathers possessed.

Take a break from the treadmill and take your runs outside, if only a few times a week. The fresh air, sunshine, and (I dare say) spiritual satisfaction is unparalleled. Before long the idea of a long winter run isn’t a terror. You’ve grown accustomed to the outdoors again and welcome the unknown into that long run.

Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m right. This kind of advice is based on each individual.

There’s only one way to find out.

You’ll sweat away from the inside, and have something more to show for it.

The post Get Garden Strong: Drop the Weights and Grab the Shovel appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

I admire plants. They are tenacious, hardy, and constantly seek to grow. Plants are unable to pick themselves up and step away from the scorching heat.

“Plants are unable to pick themselves up and step away from the scorching heat. They can’t run to the tap and get a drink of water. Plants work toward their growth with a steadfast, plodding approach.”

They can’t run to the tap and get a drink of water when thirsty.

Even when faced with parasites, predators, and predation, they simply endure. Plants work toward their growth with a steadfast plodding approach.

Examine the Saguaro Cactus of the Sonoran Desert, an iconic image of the American southwest. Although these spiny survivors can reach heights of seventy feet tall, it takes them ten years to grow their first inch. They are the plant-based inspiration for building a solid foundation inch by inch.

Mullein only grows in areas of compacted and unhealthy soil. It is a biennial, a plant completing its life cycle over a period of two years. The first year of growth establishes the velvet-leaved plant in an area, but the second year of growth allows it to reach towering heights of six feet or more. And when this plant dies, its massive volume biodegrades and replenishes minerals in the soil allowing other plants to take a firm footing. Talk about inspiration for making the most of a bad situation.

The Bristlecone Pine is the oldest living tree on the planet, and it thrives in harsh alpine environments. It favors poor soil and tends to develop a gnarled appearance because of the strong, constant winds it encounters on the tops of mountains. Bristlecone pines grow above the timber line; that is to say, they grow above an area where almost any other tree and shrub finds conditions to be inhospitable. These trees survive constant onslaughts from top-of-the-world conditions, but it’s a climate where only the strongest can survive.

But you don’t need to breach the deserts and climb up mountains to learn that plants are hardy survivors.

That jalapeno in my backyard is a perfect example. A few weeks ago I was harvesting peppers from the plant for my jambalaya. Maybe one day I’ll share the recipe with you guys.

When I reached one particular plant I was shocked to discover that the great majority of its leaves were missing. I was dumbfounded because earlier that morning I watered these plants and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

A fast inspection revealed this bastard; the tomato hornworm.

This guy ate about 80% of an entire jalapeno plant in one day. After a bout of swearing and incredulous foot stomping (I exaggerate only slightly) I removed the caterpillar from its meal ticket. I was doubly frustrated because I grew these plants from seed.

Flash forward a few weeks. That pepper plant has recovered entirely. Not only are there new leaves sprouting from every once-nibbled stalk, it’s producing fruit again. A too-wet spring, scorching summer, and an insatiable predator couldn’t stop this guy from pushing new growth.

Plants, like people, have a way of bouncing back. My jalapeno plant suffered from the hornworm. When the problem was removed and the plant given a chance it continued growing and producing. It’s the same story if people remove a toxic element from their life and continue soldiering on.

If my jalapeno can suffer massive die-back and still bounce back to its full vigor, why can’t I?

Take a breath and repeat after me: “People can learn from plants.”

It may be a model of patience taught by the saguaro, of capitalization taught by mullein, or fortitude at the top of the world by the bristlecone pine, plants are an inspiration to the person willing to appreciate it.

The jalapeno plant pushing out new growth after devastating damage is inspiring. Here is a plant chomped down in its prime, and it continues to push forward with gusto. It’s not hard to draw parallels to more conventional sources of inspiration (Robert Downey Jr. and Bruce Lee come immediately to mind).

Give it some thought, and if you need more proof to why plants are badass and inspiring, grow a few of your own.

If there’s one takeaway from everything you’ve read it’s this; you can keep moving forward even when things are at their bleakest. Saguaro cacti, mullein, bristlecone pine, and jalapeno only know how to keep moving forward. Now that’s a lesson worth remembering.

The post Get Plant Tough: What the Jalapeno Taught Me appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

But it’s a pain in the ass, and to make this tedious process all the more difficult the sun is boiling hot and the humidity suffocating. As my awareness shifts from “I’m hot” to “I need water” to “I think I can see through time”, my body changes gear into cruise control and my mind is free to wander.

It sounds pretty crazy, but these are the moments that make gardening great. It’s the same sensation long-distance runners experience when they break through that famous wall, a moment that transfigures “self” and “time” and “awareness” into an existential goulash independent of sensibility and grounded thought. My mind bounces around my body like it’s inside of a pinball machine, and I start to wonder…

“Why the hell am I weeding this meadow?”

Well, I’m weeding the meadow because it has weeds in it. A meadow is supposed to be a motley collection of good plants cultivated to grow together; there is no room for undesirable plants. It’s an easy comparison to say that you and I are like a meadow. We’re a bunch of elements thrown together to make one whole entity. In place of echinacia we have fortitude, and we can exchange that baptisia in the meadow for a fiery drive in our belly. We want what’s good, and we want to eliminate what’s undesirable.

But then one of the metaphorical flippers does its thing and I reflexively question back, “What’s undesirable, and what’s good?”

I stop and reevaluate my actions. Good plants are the ones that work together, undesirable plants are the ones that pull everything (or anything) else down. It’s a frustrating reality that I could accidentally destroy the exceptional Carolina lupine with an accidental action, but it can take years of effort to eradicate the pinellia weed. Similarly it’s easy to tarnish a reputation for honesty, but damned difficult to improve self discipline. At early stages of development it can be difficult to deduce what’s a weed and what’s a desired plant, just like how it’s easy to mistake a bad decision for a good one. So what the hell does a person do when they can’t distinguish good from bad?

Awareness filters back…

… and I tilt my head up away from the tangle of weeds in front of me. It’s easy to get lost in the details, forgetting to take a broader look at the end goal.

And there it is. The weeds are there, that’s for sure, but it’s not the choking mess that I thought it was. There’s a bit of cohesion, and those undesirable weeds aren’t so noticeable anymore.

And a further step step, and I see the meadow for all that it is. It is a reminder of the ultimate goal of weeding, and also the ultimate goal of self improvement. That big picture is easy to lose track of, but it sure as hell feels good to see it. It’s important to trade the focused vision for a glimpe at the whole picture, appreciating it in its entirety.

The experience I had was entirely influenced by a scalding hot sun and no small degree of dehydration. But still it was a legitimate experience. It provided me the lesson that sometimes I need to look up and take in the whole scene instead of focusing on just one aspect. I can weed a meadow for hours but still forget that my goal is to create a unity of the whole.

But I’m not a meadow, I’m a person!

You’re damn right you’re a person! There’s may not be much room for clumsy comparisons, but we might be able to squeeze in a bit of a metaphor.

Weeding a meadow can be an exhausting and frustrating experience. It’s easy to get lost in the details and to lose focus of the ultimate goal; a unified environment where nothing is out of balance. And we will get lost, make no mistake, if we can’t lift up our heads and take in the bigger picture.

So the next time you’re weeding the garden, or maybe focusing on personal development, take a break. Breath. Reappraise all that you’ve done and remind yourself that your goal is the whole.

The post Man as a Meadow: Weeding the Bad from the Good appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

But what the hell is an “heirloom tomato”, anyway?

Heirloom tomatoes are species at least 50 years old, grown in an era before tomatoes were shipped on continent-wide journeys. Tomatoes commonly purchased from a grocery store are an industrialized hybrid that contains tremendous toughness but little flavor. Ever eat a “fresh” tomato in January? Probably tasted like that paste we used in grade school.

Now, I’ve never liked tomatoes very much to begin with. Crazy, right? The only tomato I had ever eaten was a bland, industrialized imitation of food. All my life I pushed away those red devils, until I went to a friend’s bar-b-q two years ago. He insisted I try the tomatoes he grew himself, and eventually I relented.

Holy shit, that thing was delicious. My friend said it was an heirloom tomato, the kind of tomato our parents and grandparents ate and savored. It became my goal at the garden center to buy the right tomato to grow myself.

Sorting Through Seeds

There’s an unequivocal satisfaction in growing your own food, and tomatoes are one of the tastiest and most rewarding crops to grow.

Nestled among that dozen or more varieties of tomato was a species named Box Car Willie. Breaking the advice my grade school librarian offered, I judged these tomato seeds entirely by their cover.

I dropped the tomato seeds into a growing cell packed with soil and propped them up onto my dining room table. That’s right; I sacrificed my morning and evening eating space for the betterment of tiny tomato seedlings. I bought five-gallon buckets from the local big-box hardware store and threw together a potting mix composition, then waited anxiously for the tiny seedlings to grow.

A few weeks later I saw the sprouts popping up. I transferred the seedlings into larger containers, then selected the best looking plants. Tomatoes need about 18 inches of wiggle room for proper root development, and a five-gallon bucket is the perfect sized container for this. I moved them into their new home.

I’ve been watching these plants grow ever since, observing their transformation from insignificant seedlings to five-foot-tall giants with clusters of soon-to-be-red fruit filling the spaces between leaves. There are a handful of things that satisfy a man’s heart, and paramount among them is to foster growth. People suggest adopting a shelter dog before having a child. I say, grow a vegetable from seed until harvest before getting the dog.

If You’re Gonna Grow, Grow Heirloom

There’s no better choice than a Box Car Willie tomato to get started growing. It’s not too late in the season to buy already-formed plants, ready for transplant into a bigger home. All you need is some fresh air and access to sunlight.

And it’s an incredibly simple process. Growing a tomato from seed requires little more than a discarded egg carton to use as a seed tray, some soil, a few seeds, and a five-gallon bucket. Throw in a tomato cage or a simple stake and string to support the vines of the plant, and you’ve got yourself a tomato plant, partner.

At the end of the day, I find myself in a state of wonderment and joy watching these plants grow and prosper. This tomato I’ve grown, the Box Car Willie, has inspired an amazing experience in me, a cannonball-style entry into a pool of tomato-y fact and joy. If you’re feeling hesitant, recognize that at worst you’ll have tried something new, and potentially you could have some fresh-grown tomatoes in your summer meals.

Author’s Note:

While sipping bourbon and ginger ale, I wondered why the hell these tomatoes were named Box Car Willie. Minutes of Google internet searching later I discovered the disarmingly enjoyable music of Box Car Willie. If you aren’t going to grow tomatoes, then at least give this guy a listen.

I put him on the speakers while tending my tomatoes, a little bit of a homage to the man that inspired a tremendous plant.

The post Go Heirloom or Go Home: Let’s Talk Tomatoes appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

It only takes a few minutes to get everything planted, and requires minimal watering. There’s enough flavor in the following project to add some homegrown love to any meal, and it can grow wherever there is sunlight. This portable garden can be thrown on a patio, a balcony overhang, or even inside a kitchen window, and it works as a thoughtful and eagerly received gift.

With this guide you’ll learn how to construct the miniature garden, and how to maintain and harvest the herbs inside of it.

Keep in mind that this project can be customized; the size of the window box can be increased to fit many herbs and other vegetables, or minimized to hold a single plant of your choice, but the basics are all here.

Let’s get started.

You’ll need a handful of supplies:

• A container to grow the plants in. Any garden center or home improvement store sells these containers for less than $20.00. Make sure it has drainage holes! Be mindful of the weight of the container and where it is being placed. If you’re hanging the container from a railing or balcony, consider purchasing brackets to hold it securely in place.
• The plants you want to grow. This project uses cilantro, basil, rosemary, sage, and chives. These can also be purchased at any garden center for about $3-5 each. They can be found growing in either a plastic cup or a biodegradable container. Either option is okay!
• Potting mix. For this project, you need to use a soil that is designed to be lightweight and provide good drainage. Any bags that say “Potting Mix” or “Container Mix” should work well. When in doubt, ask an employee at the store or search the internet.
• Your own two hands. The soil used for container plants is usually sterile and clean, and the plants are similarly safe to handle with bare hands. A pair of gardening gloves could be purchased if going bare handed isn’t for you.
• Water. This could be as simple as a glass from your kitchen, or you could buy a small watering can.
• Optional: Fertilizer. Fertilizers help to produce healthy plants. Organic fertilizers work best. I use Espoma Garden Tone for my herbs and vegetables.
• Optional: Mulch. Mulch is a great addition to an herb window box because it helps the plants to conserve water and helps eliminate weeds from sprouting up. Unfortunately you can typically only buy mulch in large bags.
• Optional: Trowel. A trowel makes scooping easier, but it can only scoop about the equivalent of a handful of soil.

Step 1 – Fill up the container with potting mix.

To make for an easy clean-up, place a garbage bag or newspaper underneath the container. Most containers have a lip on the inside that designates where the top of the soil level should be, about an inch below the top of the container. Don’t fill the mix higher than that line!

Step 2 – Prep your plants.

This is the fun part. Herbs will be available in one of two containers: a plastic cup, or a biodegradable pot.

If you purchased a plant inside of the biodegradable container, simply rip or cut off the bottom of the container and place it into the soil.

If you purchased plants inside of plastic pots, carefully remove them (hold the plant upside down and slide the container off). Plants grown in these containers are likely to be root bound, like the picture to the left.

To ensure the plant grows well, you’ll need to rake apart the roots. Don’t be afraid of hurting the plant! Working your fingers into the soil and between the roots, separate the roots gently as if they were knotted together. It should look like the picture to the right.

Like people, roots can learn bad behavior.If they are left in their tightly coiled state they can effectively choke the plant to death. Break them apart like the image to the right, so the roots are free to grow down.

If the plant is not root bound it is not necessary to loosen it like this!

Step 3 – Get To Plantin’

Align the plants inside your container. The only guidelines here are to give the plants a bit of spacing away from each other (an inch or two should do). For this project I staggered the plants so that three plants were in the “back row” and two were in the “front row”. Press the rooted soil of each plant gently and firmly into place. When they’re all in place, carefully fill in any low spots with potting mix. The soil should not be any higher than it was in the plants original container.

It’s easiest to use a hand for this part, but a trowel works too.

Be mindful of the plants here! Try not to break too many leaves and stems.

If you purchased some mulch, now’s a great time to add it to the container. It doesn’t require much, just a light coating. For this window box I used five or six handfuls of mulch.

Step 4 – Water!

Drink up, little plants! This is the first time you’ll be watering these little guys. One day at the end of the growing season you’ll look back and remember this first planting wistfully.

Most growing mediums are bone dry, so when watering they bubble up and actually expel water, so take it easy and add a little bit at a time. Chances are that at this stage, you’ll see some of the plants have their lower leaves buried in water and potting mix. Simply lift the leaves out of the mixture and gently remove the bulk of the soil.

Maintenance and Harvesting

Watering is very important, but also very simple. Follow these simple tips:

• The hotter it is, the more these guys will need to get a drink.
• Remember the 3 W’s: Wilting, Weight, and Withdrawing. Plants with leaves that are wilted or with dropping stems probably need a drink. If you pick up the container and it weighs very little, it probably needs a drink. And if the soil is withdrawing from the edges of the container, almost shrinking in size, it definitely needs a drink of water.
• When watering, aim to get most of the water into the soil and not on the plants.
• The water should soak through the soil.
• Watch for water to run out of the drainage holes on the bottom of the container.

As for harvesting the plants, leave some of the leaves and stalks in place for a future harvest. If you notice the plant start to flower, pinch off the flower head right away or it will finish its life cycle and die! Here’s a quick look at what you want to do:

• Basil- Pinch off the leaves, harvesting about one third of the height of the plant. Remove the now bare stem above a pair of leaves. You can harvest again in a few weeks!
• Rosemary- Cut off a few stems and hang to dry.
• Chives- Cut the chives, leaving about half an inch of green at the bottom of the plant. It will grow back within a few weeks.
• Sage- Remove individual leaves, or cut a stem at a time. Allow them to dry before use.
• Cilantro- Harvest individual large leaves or a few stems at a time. Cilantro is best when fresh.

Finishing Up

Pretty fun, huh? Now you can spice up your meals with freshly grown herbs when guests arrive, or present a unique and handmade gift. Most importantly, it got you outside again and into the sun. Probably dirtied up your hands a bit, too. Now that’s a good day.

And chances are, you’ve got some extra potting soil lying around now. Better put it to good use, and start some more planting.

The post Growing Some Herb: An Introduction to Gardening appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

My garden hose is another man’s bug-ridden software, and it is the coffee machine that leaks grounds into your drink, and it is the morning commute. The source of these frustrations and annoyances is a lack of patience. It’s the little things in our day that interrupt the flow of efforts and intents, and those tiny interruptions take the greatest toll on our patience.

In my journey it has become apparent that as long as I spend time in the garden, professionally or at home, I will be around a hose. And that means I’ll be untangling these bastards for the rest of my life. It’s the thorn in my lion’s paw, and I want it gone. For years I have been searching in vain for the ultimate hose to solve this dilemma, looking for a fix that will remove this stubborn stabbing thing from my foot.

But what if I don’t need to remove it?

The warm weather this spring has forced me to bust that hose out of retirement. That means solving the equivalent of a rubber Rubik’s cube at least a few times a season, except this one sprays water at you and soaks your shoes when you least expect it. I opened the shed door and groaned a grunt of dejection when laying eyes on that hideous thing. It seems to get heavier every year, and the amount of wear and tear I put into it has no impact on its rigidity or likelihood to coil back into a Gordian knot. But this time…

Well, this time I took the hose out, and I dropped it on the ground in front of me, and I picked up one end. I started untangling it. And that was it. I simply untangled the thing. The exercise became a meditation, and I was intent on accomplishing this task with the least amount of thought possible.

Well, this time I took the hose out, and I dropped it on the ground in front of me, and I picked up one end. I started untangling it. And that was it. I simply untangled the thing. The exercise became a meditation, and I was intent on accomplishing this task with the least amount of thought possible.

Before long I was hooking it up to the spigot and watering my tomatoes and peppers. I didn’t even mind the wet socks.

It was a point of clarity that the hose wore out my patience because I allowed it to. That opened up something even deeper; what if patience isn’t a finite pool of tolerance, but is instead a quality to make ironclad through daily testing? This epiphany made the thorn in my foot seem more like a boon than an annoyance. Suddenly the tangled hose I unravel isn’t an excuse to vent frustration, it’s an opportunity to strengthen my patience.

I gave up on my search for the ultimate hose because I don’t need it anymore. Unraveling these things will always be a pain in the ass, but it’s something I’m grateful for now. Practicing patience is a regular opportunity to forge myself into a better person.

Patience is a virtue, but we aren’t born with it. As a final thought, take a moment to think about the words of the entrepreneur and visionary Elon Musk, who said, “Patience is a virtue, and I’m learning patience. It’s a tough lesson.”

Just remember you heard it from me first.

The post Wranglin’ Up a Knotty Hose: Or, “How I Came to Find Patience” appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.