Overheard a neighbor say herbs don't count as real gardening

I was out watering my balcony tomatoes last week and my neighbor from 3 floors up yells down that I'm not a real gardener because I only grow herbs and a few cherry tomatoes. Said real gardening means having a yard with corn and squash. I just laughed but later it got me thinking... I've got 5 different herbs growing in 3 hanging planters plus basil and mint in window boxes. My oregano went crazy this summer and I've been drying it for months. Since when does size determine if something counts? I've had better results with my balcony setup than I ever did trying to fight weeds and rabbits in a ground plot. Anyone else get judged for having a small space garden?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessel351mo ago

Honestly, why do people get so worked up about what counts as real gardening? It's just plants, grow whatever you want and ignore the gatekeepers.

janaf761mo ago

Right? I saw this article the other day about people fighting over whether growing tomatoes in pots on a balcony counts as gardening. Made me laugh, honestly. @jessel35 is spot on, gatekeepers are just people who need something to feel superior about. My neighbor grows veggies in those fabric bags on her deck and they're way better than anything I've ever coaxed out of the ground. I figure if you're getting dirt under your nails and making something grow, that's good enough for me.

green.jessica29d ago

Gatekeepers are weird about the weirdest stuff. Like, I saw someone getting roasted for using a self watering pot the other day. Having a disability means I can't do that traditional in ground stuff anymore, so it's containers or nothing. Those fabric bags on decks? They're actually brilliant for drainage and root health. If a plant is happy and you're happy, that's the whole point. Growing things is already hard enough without people making it a competition.