Evidence of Spring

Well if the pollen, the small yellowish-green leaves on all the trees, the 80-degree temperatures, and the post-7 p.m. sundowns haven’t convinced you that winter is gone for another nine months, then stop by the Spirit Gardens to see what our babies have to tell you about spring.

There are tiny marigolds sprouts peeking out from all through the tomato beds -- they just barely have their first set of real leaves, all serrated and deep green on reddish stems. Bonnie’s squash, zucchini, and daikon rashishes are up, too, as well as the bunch of nasturtiums that I thought had fallen asleep. Do stop by and see them -- they are just behind the calendula (pot marigolds), and their two little pre-leaves look exactly like cartoon duck feet.

We’ve transplanted some sprouted zinnias and dahlias just east of the peas, although I think I may have rushed them a bit getting into the ground, and I’m not sure they’re all going to pull through. In the new flower bed next to the wall on the very east side of the garden, three four o’clocks are making do, as well as a hydrangea and of course our hearts a’bustin’ shrub. And for the companion planting workshop this past weekend, we planted a hyssop, a scented geranium, and a mint near the tomatoes.

We’ll be sad to see the collards and lettuce go as the weather turns from sunny and cool to sunny and hot -- the collards are already growing tough, and the lettuce has started to wilt and bend to the ground. In the next two weeks, we’ll probably be replacing them with eggplant, okra, and cucumbers. We didn’t get the sweet peas to bloom in time this year -- they’re a hard vine to grow in our area with such a tiny window of the kind of weather they like best -- so we have something to try again next year, perhaps a little earlier.

Hey Ladies! Nice Tomatoes!

A girl can dream, can't she? Although they are now just 4 inches high, our 24 tomato plants in 8 varieties will soon enough be bearing fruit in ripe peach with red shoulders, apricot, green and yellow stripes, red with yellow speckles, brown, purple, and yes, plain bright red. They will have shapes like baseballs, sausages, walnuts, and tiny bean bag chairs. They will tower over children's heads and be just a little high for a rabbit to reach.

Thanks to Lauren and Katie, first-time Spirit Gardeners and tomato planting extraordinaires, we got all of them in the ground and off to a good start.

We're so pleased to be able to take part in these Tomato Trials, not only because we are supporting Turkey Hill Farm, but because we are adding to the scholarship of sustainable living and biodiversity. We're going to be taking notes throughout the whole growing process to find out which heirloom varieties do best here in Tallahassee, but also to be able to share with others what we did well, what we futzed, and what innovations we made to overcome obstacles.

Such information is useful on an astonishing number of levels. Imagine that "Organic Vegetable Growing 101" were part of every, say, 7th grade science and ecology class in Tallahassee. (I'm dreaming here, so allow me the "ecology" part.) Armed with that know-how, perhaps 50 percent of the residents would grow 20 percent of their own vegetables on their property, in pots on their balconies, or in FAMU's community gardens.

And then what would happen?

* Our reliance on chain-store produce would decrease significantly, forcing Publix or Super-WalMart to rethink destroying that oak stand and wetlands to build yet another mega-super-storeparkinglot.

* Tallahassee residents would significanly decrease the amount of pesticides they injest every day, and combined with their increased consumption of irresistibly tasty and good-for-you vegetables, would lead the nation in physical health.

* There would be no such thing as a food shortage in the Second Harvest Food Bank, and our homeless and hidden homeless would have full bellies, just like the rest of us. Of course, the working poor and near-homeless, with the means of proper nutrition at their disposal, would need less state-sponsored medical care and therefore "cost" taxpayers less.

* In a worst-case scenario following a foreign relations botch job, Tallahasseeans would have a most basic and valued survival skill.

So we have high hopes for these Tomato Trials. But I don't think they are too high. There is something about gardening that makes one feel very powerful, and very much a part of the good and the bad things that happen on the earth.

Drop by periodically as our plants grow tall, and whisper your hopes to them. We like big dreams in the Spirit Garden.

Year

When a person decides they want to commit themselves to paganism as a religion, they begin a process known as the “year and a day.” The individual studies, ask questions, keeps a journal, and pays close attention to thoughts and feelings along the spiritual journey during this time, as well as what is happening in the natural world around them. Plugging into the rhythms of the earth, such as the passing of seasons throughout the calendar year, is one of the most important aspects of the religion.

I thought of that today when I made the first entry into the garden journal that Paty just donated to the Spirit Gardens. This will be my first full year tending a garden. Have I paid attention to the changing seasons? Have I attended to the hours of daylight, the texture of the soil, the smell of the leaves? What have I learned? What have I changed?

It is almost impossible to not be in the moment in a garden. You are just there, in the garden, as the sun is changing your skin and the plants, as the blossoms fade and fall, as the new leaves unfurl in yellow-greens, as the wind sweeps past the back of your neck with what can almost be called a chill, and as the soil parts for hungry earth worms. And so sometimes the cycle itself is hard to see.

For that reason, it is good to write, record, and reflect on what is happening. I am thankful to Paty for giving us the journal. We will now know what we see and feel, but also where we’ve been, and what we might see and do when the world turns this way again.

Harvesting

How splendid that we just had a little frost! The garden's greens should be sweet for the Gathering of Women Potluck tonight. I think the lettuces could use a little snipping, too, and I know there are at least four or five beets that could be pulled.

This whole concept of harvesting is fairly new to me. At the time I had no basis for comparison, but I've since realized that my previous attempts at growing vegetables have been only marginally successful to say the least! I thought I was doing well to get two jalapenos off of my pepper plant last year, one pretty good sized eggplant, and maybe two handfuls of cherry tomatoes. There was no reason to "keep up" with the food -- I simply waited for the one thing to ripen, then plucked it off. I had no idea the bounty that could result from an organic, carefully and lovingly tended garden!

I've learned so much by simply showing up every week or so and stopping by to water and weed in between. And I have to remind myself that this was just our winter garden -- the tomatoes, squash, zucchini, eggplant, herbs, okra, cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, onions, and leeks are still to come!

My confidence in myself as a gardener has grown almost as fast as the collards -- I truly believe that with just a few resources and a small sunny patch, I could grow a good percentage of my own food. That's a pretty good feeling.