Through the mid 50s to the mid 60s my hobbies consisted of gardening, hunting fishing, golf, woodworking and photography don’t ask where I got the time. In the later 60s, I gave up golfing and started camping. From the mid 50s till now gardening has been my most serious hobby, probably because its roots run deepest into my heritage. During the mid 50s to mid 60s I subscribed to the Organic Gardener, Mother Earth News, The farm Journal and the Pennsylvania Farmer magazines. I read all from cover to cover trying every month to stay current. After about 10 years they all seemed to become redundant and I dropped my subscriptions. Through this time I tried to concentrate on working 8 hrs a day raising my family and of course my hobbies. From then until now because of age and health I have given up woodworking, camping, hunting and fishing. I’m still active in gardening and photography. In 1993 I was offered a golden handshake I couldn't pass up. All of a sudden my family is raised and they are raising their own families and I have additional time to spend on my hobbies. I decided to try my hand at propagation by stem cuttings which led me to the internet and various forums all with interesting subjects. I got hooked by the internets benefits and downfalls and have spent many winter months reading and participating in these forums. I'm astonished at the complexity that gardening has become. There are many self appointed experts making statements of fact based on feelings alone. Anytime you read something that just doesn't add up, ask for a link to the original data that judgment was based on, not a link to another person that made the same statement but to the original data/report the statement was based on. Be tactful though most of these people seem to be very thin skinned. What concerns me is with the young people that may be interested in starting to garden may be scared off with all the complexity. I was taught gardening by people that depended on gardening for their very existence. It is very simple and straightforward. That’s why I say ”Give me that old time gardening, its good enough for me”.
I know what you mean and I was one of those scared off by all the complex information I read in gardening books and magazines. I finally started gardening after wanting to most of my life but was afraid I couldn't do it right and that it was going to be very expensive what with all the tools and things some experts said were needed to be successful. My gardening is now more "what did my Great-grandmother do", she certainly didn't have all the experts telling her it couldn't be done unless it was done a specific way. I have a trowel, heavy gardening fork, a kneeling pad, mechanix gloves and a bucket to put the grass/weeds in and those are all the tools I have used to turn the entire front yard and half of the back yard into gardens.
I believe in just doing it. I love reading the Internet to, from scientific articles to various forums. In fact if I spent that time in the garden I would have a perfect park. My yard has changed so much over the years, and its different ecosystems are diverse. Anything I read has to be taken with a grain of salt living in the edge of a temperate rain forest. But boy, do I enjoy reading and hearing everyone's opinion. I love learning and have been led to new plants, and new things(to me) that aren't garden related. Gardening and the Internet are my hobbies too.
The internet can be a great tool. Take the Stew for instance. But I believe that it is up to each and every one of us to use our common sense to figure out what works best for us. Through all my phases... I've always loved nature. So gardening is just a natural fit.
