Lifelong knowledge and expertise.

I found this piece which you've probably seen before - I hadn't.

'There was once a woman who was walking through a square when she came across a man creating a painting. As she got closer, she realized that the painter was Picasso! She had always admired his work, so she approached him and asked if he'd paint her portrait. She'd pay him "anything". He agreed.

About 20 minutes later, he showed her the finished work. She was amazed! She exclaimed how wonderful it was and how much she loved it.
"How much do I owe you?" she asked?
"Twenty thousand dollars" he answered.
She was mortified. "Twenty thousand dollars!?! But . . . it only took you twenty minutes!"
"On the contrary, madame. It has taken me a lifetime."'

It made me think about just how much knowledge and expertise is needed, in this instance, to grow things, whether it be just a humble potato or some exotic fruit. So whilst the soil holds years and years of secrets of how it came to it's composition today, the knowledge and expertise lies in how to use the soil with each plant successfully. The lifetime gardener knows about all of this without looking in books or on the Internet. Their knowledge is built out of years of gardening themselves, no doubt trial and error too, as well as learning from the lifetimes gardening experience of the generations before them.

And so I'm becoming hooked. I have no experience at all and I'm far too busy with other things already. I look to my friends for help and information to make my ideas into a one step at a time, successful and sustaining project. ........ we'll see!