I never realized up until the start of the CoVid Pandemic, on why people who love plants, or gardening, were ever called a green thumb. Where and how did this originate? According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, and from
“James Underwood Crockett, it comes from the fact that algae growing on the outside of earthenware pots will stain a person’s thumb (and fingers) if he or she handles enough pots. Hence, a person who is always working with flowerpots has a green thumb. Another theory is that it originated during the reign of King Edward I of England. He was fond of green peas and kept half a dozen serfs shelling them during the season. The serf who had the greenest thumb won a prize.”
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However, I just figured this out, sometime last year, when I started my own vegetable garden. Like most people on planet Earth, I had to realign my priorities, limit my activities more towards home. I decided to clean up our front yard and started a small vegetable garden.
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I began with seeds from kitchen scraps, like tomatoes, squash, capsicums, watermelons, corn and cherry tomatoes. I also sewed eggplants and okras from purchased seeds. I found it easy, my sowed seeds were growing nicely. I joined plant groups for tips on how to grow in an urban setting.
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I figured some pests like aphids, leaf miners, caterpillars, snails and grasshoppers were a normal occurrence. So, every morning I diligently, water my plants; check under the leaves for caterpillars; check the soil for snails; catch small grasshoppers and throw them all to the lot next door; spray organic pesticides for aphids; and even pluck each leaf that had leaf miners, which I rub it between my fingers. I had a green thumb! plus my right pointy finger, literally speaking.
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Everything was going well, until the rain started. It brought with it a new pest, that made the leaves turn red, spreading from plant to plant, green leaves falling off, the tiny fruit shriveling and eventually the plant dying. I tried to save my crop, but alas, I was overtaken with blight. I was devastated. I got irritated. My green thumb, no longer.
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That was how I realized the idiom, a green thumb. However, it did not stop me from growing ornamental plants and now a few eggplants and capsicum plants. I may not have an exceptional aptitude with planting vegetables, but I think I’m getting there slowly, surely.