Survey Says

We decided what to plant in our garden. In order to reach consensus about the decision, Matt and I implemented a new process. 1) We brainstormed all the possible ideas. During this time, we did not comment on each other’s ideas. I know, I know, that’s the actual definition of a brainstorm, but I’m not good at holding myself to this kind openness. The judgmentalness that my grandmother bequeathed to me forces me to critique and question every idea. It’s an annoying habit. And because of it I am not much fun to collaborate with.

2) Once we brainstormed all the ideas, we agreed upon the criteria for decided which options to go with. In this case, we decided that we should consider two things: first, does it grow in the summer and second, do we already eat it frequently? We decided not to experiment too much in year one. We’re keepin’ it simple.

3) We then applied our two criteria to each of the items on our brainstormed lists. It was refreshingly simple! We reached consensus immediately. Our 2007-2008 garden will consist of the following:

Tomatoes (of course)
Red and green bell peppers
Strawberries
Watermelon
Spinach
Basil
Carrots (lots of them)
Onions
Garlic
Cantaloupe
Cilantro
Lettuce
Pumpkin (to be ready for Halloween)