Cola82 wrote:As a person whose mother always claimed to have a Black Thumb, I just kind of assumed I always did, too. Now I have my boyfriend's mother--who somehow manages to work full time and help raise her grand daughter and still have a massive property brimming with beautiful trees, flowers, herbs, and vegetables--telling me I have "the touch." Mostly this is because I got some hydrangea cuttings to root, which she's never done before. But honestly, I just never tried. Also, I have the benefit of the Internet to fill in all the gaps in my knowledge. There's still trial and error, but I can anticipate most of the issues before they become a problem.
Without a lot of experience, not enough time to devote to research, and not a lot of financial resources, failure is extremely discouraging. It doesn't seem so much "trail and error" as "I don't have time to keep going back to the gardening supply store for new plants and putting them in pots if they're just going to keep dying." So, if Black Thumbs really are a thing, they're probably a combination of low experience and zero confidence. It's easier to chalk it up to a lack of skill.
That said, my boyfriend is completely useless around the house. He has no coordination and his spatial reasoning is terrible, so I do all of the handy man stuff, like fixing lights and assembling furniture. I've watched him cut cakes and casseroles with his wrist at a weird angle and his fingers mostly rigid so that the utensil is always slipping out of his hand and I just cringe. I also can't handle watching him pack bags at the store, because he mostly just awkwardly paws things into place. He is 100% useless with a screwdriver. It's a good thing his profession doesn't call for any manual dexterity, because he would get himself killed working in a factory. He's plenty intelligent, but he's also all thumbs and left feet. So, that's my anecdotal evidence that some people just aren't good at some things.
LA47 wrote:My husband is the prime example of a all round handy man, and can do so much, mechanical, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, etc. BUT he has never gardened and figures you just put the seeds in the ground and water. He is trying to help me and is enjoying it to but I'm always walking on egg shells trying to nicely tell him that he is drowning the tomatoes so then he just barely wets the soil so I'm trying to tell him how to water deeply, then let it dry out but, then had to explain new plants need frequent water because he almost killed the carrot seedlings doing what I told him!
I think that some of the people that don't garden thinks like my DH did and then, when the plants fail, they are too discouragedd to try again. A few generations ago, people did most things themselves, from growing and preserving their own food, clothing, mechanical work...mainly self-sufficient. Now days everything is bought or hired done. My grandkids feel that they've put in their 8 hours of work and the rest of the time should be play time. Gardening to some people, is work, not an enjoyable hobby with rewards of getting great food.
I think you are right, that they get discouraged, and stop trying, lol Sounds like he was of the mind if some is good more is better. My stepfather has a hard time with the idea that not everything can be grown in a container, or that the container has to be bigger for certain plants. My mom told me he tried to grow corn in one gallon sized flower pots. He figured it worked for the strawberries... LOL!LA47 wrote:My husband is the prime example of a all round handy man, and can do so much, mechanical, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, etc. BUT he has never gardened and figures you just put the seeds in the ground and water. He is trying to help me and is enjoying it to but I'm always walking on egg shells trying to nicely tell him that he is drowning the tomatoes so then he just barely wets the soil so I'm trying to tell him how to water deeply, then let it dry out but, then had to explain new plants need frequent water because he almost killed the carrot seedlings doing what I told him!
I think that some of the people that don't garden thinks like my DH did and then, when the plants fail, they are too discouragedd to try again. A few generations ago, people did most things themselves, from growing and preserving their own food, clothing, mechanical work...mainly self-sufficient. Now days everything is bought or hired done. My grandkids feel that they've put in their 8 hours of work and the rest of the time should be play time. Gardening to some people, is work, not an enjoyable hobby with rewards of getting great food.
RamonaGS wrote:LA47 wrote: Hey Gumbo, Fortunately for you, your wife did not listen to her friend, LOL!
gumbo2176 wrote:You bet. But I was ready to slap her friend with my purse if she would have kept it up.![]()
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They are called native plants or adapted plants.Want plants to stay the right size forever, never die, require no maintenance, and can live on rain