The Short Path from Good Idea to Dogma

When I've had success on a project I get really excited and want to tell everybody about it so they can share my success. My methods worked great for me so everyone should use them, right?

No, they shouldn't. Not unless they consider carefully the process I used and decide it's a good match for their site and their needs. There are lots of reasons why a great method for one site will fail utterly in another. Some things to consider:

Conditions: Climate, weather, type of soil, presence or absence of slope, aspect, competing vegetation (etc, etc, ad infinitum). All these things can vary immensely from site to site. A property just down the road can be totally different from mine.

Needs: The design of my site is based on what my family likes to eat, what our livestock needs, and how we like to use our outdoor space. Another family will have different likes and needs which must be considered before putting time and energy into a project.

Available resources: Access to free or low cost materials, and to volunteer or paid labor, will vary incredibly and this must be taken into account.

Not considering these differences in conditions, needs, and resources, and simply stating that my way is the best way is dogma, "a principle or statement of ideas, or a group of such principles or statements, especially when considered to be authoritative or accepted uncritically." (from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition)

The important word here is "uncritically." Just because someone else has had success, or seems to be an authority on the subject, don't take their word as law. The last time I picked up a mainstream gardening book at the library and read how weeds should never be used in compost, I dropped that book like a smut-infested ear of corn. Weeds are a key ingredient in my compost!

Get ideas from other people, then experiment to figure out what works for you. Experimentation is a large part of what makes gardening so much fun. Think outside the fence and get creative and don't be afraid to try things that you have heard don't work. They might work for you.

Okay, now that's out of the way, let me tell you about the absolute best Asian green ever and how you need to grow it!