slow growth

Since moving to New Zealand I've had to re-learn what I know about winter, mainly, that it's not half a year long, the inside of your nose doesn't freeze and even if it snows (which is uncommon), it doesn't stay on the ground. Best of all, you can still garden! It's a lot slower growth, though.

I planted these broccoli and cauliflower at least three months ago. It took about a month for the seedlings to get big enough to plant outside and two more months for them to reach this point. My friend who lives in town has plants at least three or four times bigger when we planned ours at basically the same time.

One of the main differences between my friend's garden and ours is the cold. Our night temperatures are a lot lower and frosts are common. So we accept the slow growth.*

This all makes me think of the metaphorical climates that we dwell in. Are they warm and is the soil rich? Or are they cold at regular intervals and maybe need a boost of nutrition? How can we make the most of whatever environment we're in?

*I do think we need to add compost and other nutrients to our soil, which should help some.