Fast!

If you are like me, the garden can never progress fast enough. Plants take forever to grow and fill in, vegetables don't ripen as quickly as I want them too, and seeds -- well, they just take forever to emerge and start growing.

Except, they don't really. It's just that -- again, if you're like me -- you'll check those seeds a couple of times a day at least, so any progress they're making seems small indeed.

***

Well, here's a tip for you that will make your garden really jump into action, with everything -- including those seeds -- growing much faster than you've ever seen before: leave.

That's right, leave your garden for 4 days or a week or 10 days or more. It doesn't matter if it's a trip for pleasure or business, but you must get away, letting your plants fend for themselves.

I just did this myself, and these mouse melon seedlings (also known as "Mexican sour gherkins") which were just a tiny set of leaves barely breaking through the soil surface when I last saw them, are 8" (20cm) vines upon my return!

Plant seeds, water, catch a plane: Instant plants!

I got similar results from things in my yard: the bamboo shoots are feet taller since I last saw them, there are new blooms around the yard, and everything just looks so lush.

Unfortunately the lawn -- which was extremely long and needed to be mowed even before I left -- has also exhibited this absence-influenced growth spurt.

I wonder if I can find a scythe at Home Depot?

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