I learned a number of years ago of the environmental devastation from gardening with peat moss and stopped doing so. Here’s a great blog discussing the down and dirty of peat moss.
Most of us are gardening for beauty, to have better food, and to help the environment. The more we know about how we garden, the more beauty we can create–in our own gardens and wherever our gardens are sourced.
Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and unseasonably warm, one of those bright days right when the seasons are changing that bring a giddiness to our hearts and can incite us to premature planting.
The forecast for Saturday is cool and gray, with a high of 54F. Not only will it be a great reminder that the danger of last frost is weeks away, but also of how important patience and preparation are in the early part of the season, so that our gardens will flourish most optimally throughout the season.
Tomorrow is the afternoon and early evening to do a little weeding, to see what is volunteering, to check in the health of your perennials, and to sit with your vision of the garden for the year. Then on Saturday, nurture yourself and nurture nature by bringing yourself and your alignment questions to “Yoga for Gardeners” (to register and/or get more information please visit www.willowstreetyoga.com).
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
It was just approaching the deep dark of the solstice when I left for places warm and light. Last week, when I got home, just by comparison to the sultriness of southern India, it felt dark. This morning, though, I noticed earlier morning light. When the wake up call sounded, I was deep in a rather wonderful dream in the violet-tinged landscape of the American southwest. As I had an early meeting at another governmental agency that required me to walk 10 blocks further than my usual walk to work, and I did not want to miss my regular morning practice, I had to get up right away.
The light through my second floor skylight seemed softer than it had just a few days earlier. Instead of being absolutely dark, there was enough of a hint of dawn that there was no need to turn on the light just to walk downstairs. I thought perhaps a little of yesterday’s snow might have accumulated. No snow. It was just the first glimmer of the days starting to get longer. When I walked past the Capitol on my way to the meeting, I saw several robin red breasts. With global climate change, many of them now do not fly farther south for the winter.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
Yesterday morning, when I was starting to pack to leave for Oregon today, the most critical elements for getting ready (after making sure I had my wallet, camera, and some yoga clothes in a suitcase) were to water the garden well, pull some weeds, pick ripe vegetables, and cook.
I’d given away some produce a couple of days ago, but still had eggplants, peppers, tomatoes from the garden and half an onion from something I had cooked earlier in the week.
I cut everything in half, slathered it in olive oil, sprinkled the vegetables with coarsely ground pepper Himalayan pink salt and put it into the toaster/convection oven (my favorite kitchen appliance). The vegetables roasted while I was doing other chores. Now, on my return, I will be able pull from the freezer ingredients for a wonderful pasta sauce.
As much as I am looking forward to a week of yoga and exploration, I’ll be delighted to come back to garden and my own kitchen. It is almost time to start planting greens, beets, and turnips for fall.
As I enjoy the briefly warmish weather before it is cold again tomorrow, I delight in the very earliest signs of spring (check out the leaves starting on the rose bushes all around town) and remember why I love this city filled with gardens and flowers.
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Yup. Anything from wetlands is a bad idea. Grow what suits your soil and gardening is a lot easier, better for the environment and you get better results too.