Sunday, April 5, 2009

Gracious Gracious Life is Good, and I Beleaf

Friday we had snow in places, I saw wee flakes floating, floating, drifting aimlessly across my window, like soft fragile leaves of imagination. Saturday, the greenhouses hit over 95*, and I was able to open up both sets of windows for ventilation. It was actually uncomfortable ! to work in the third greenhouse, the Nursery/Baby House. Where the wee small tomatoes, peppers, celery, and such are germinating, and growing.

I'm rather struggling with Alfonso, the OTHER gardening Guru, about the importance of AIR CIRCULATION. He says (in his broken English) "Peppers, they like hot". I say "PLANTS, they HATE slimy molds!!!!" So I take my wee plastic fork, and I gently, oh so gently, fork over these wee tiny 4" pots' top soil, to break up the slime crust. There's no dampening off, there's no HARM, but the soil needs to breathe.

The tiny wee plantlets are loving the heat. We have small heaters on at night, I close up the greenhouse around 4 pm to conserve the day's accumulated heat.

It's GLORIOUS! splendiferous! fantabulicious! to see the sun, to realize that TODAY, I get to get OUT of my sweats & my thermals!

I opened up my own wee greenhouse for the air. My seeds are sprouting on the TV tray perched along the south glass doors. The garden soil is still too wet to till (again, for the sixth time this year) or to rake smooth, but it's getting there. The pea seeds I planted last Wed. are swelling, are ripening up to pop their wee rootlets.

We will get more rain mid-week. But for Today, Life is Good. Gardening is EVERYTHING. Bright Blessings!

>^,,^<

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

April Fool

Here it is, April 1st. Fool's Day. I am an April Fool.
The Fool
The Fool Defined

"The Fool represents the "everyperson" - the essence of us all embarking on the journey of life, self-discovery and mastery. He is the innocent, the whimsical, the "inner child" mixed with the "inner sage" that lives down deep inside of us all. He faces life and his journey unafraid, trusting, the perfect example of total and utter faith that all will be well, that every experience has a deep essential meaning. He trapses along the crags of life, regardless of any hidden peril or disappointment, his eyes are turned to the heavens and he knows that he will be kept safe and whole along his travels. Key words associated with the Fool are new beginnings, important decisions and optimism.

The Fool is sometimes known as the most worthless card, yet also as the most valuable one. He is the first and the last, the alpha and the omega. It represents both the fledgling beginner and the adept master. The Fool reminds us of things, sacred things, that we have forgotten or repressed. The Fool knows his or her own ignorance, thus is seen as the most wise."

So at my most foolish, I planted garlic (two new kinds) in early March. Shame on me, I was told, you are supposed to plant garlic in the Fall, it needs cold. Then we got 2+ weeks of snow & freezing, and hoar frost, and hail. My new garlics are pushing up, all lovely and healthy. I fed them all a lovely supper of bone meal.

Now at my most foolish, I go forth to plant my peas in my new garden. It's a chilly 39* outside, drizzly, and supposed to reach a high of 47* WEEEEE!! with more rain. But I am going to plant them anyways, because I got a foolish feeling that this is a Good Day to plant peas. We will have a couple of dry warmish days coming this weekend, so my wee pea children will have wetness in order to swell and germinate, followed by a couple of days of warmth to combat the rot which threatens them. I have Pea Innoculant to help the battle as well.

I started some cole crop seeds inside, and to my surprise, the Walla Walla onions didn't even wait a week to push their wee heads up to search for light.

Hope Springs Eternal! Happy Gardening to Thee!

>^,,^<