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Crumbly soil,ready to be planted. With daytime temps hitting 60 degrees and an amazing stretch of sunny days, it was clearly time to plant in the bed that has been drying out for the past week. I simply removed the plastic,raked the beds and planted seeds,then covered the bed with a floating row cover. [...]
Celeriac,the homely prince of root vegetables A favorite dish at this time of year features the last of the celeriac stored the root cellar. And in a bit of poetic symetry it’s also time to plant the next season’s celeriac seeds. Each year I grow more of this lovely winter vegetable. It’s hardy,isn’t bothered by pests (except voles!),[...] As if the on-set of snow melt and warm weather didn’t bring enough garden activity, it’s also the time to start seeds indoors. I used to set up the grow lights and start my first round of seeds in February but now begin a month later. This saves energy (electrical and human) and reduces the amount of time [...] After a few sunny days,the snow melted and ground thawed sufficiently to insert hoops. Then covered with plastic and will leave in place until ground dries and can be worked for planting. Any kind of hoops can be used. These are PVC. Cover bed fully to keep rain/snow out but leave ends [...] Some thoughts to chew upon from my brother John,a professor of applied linguistics in Tokyo. “Zest”is an interesting word–arising from citrus peel,but now extended to intentional and energetic living. The Ministry of Education Science and Technology here [in Japan] has translated its current educational ethos for children,ikiru chikara 生きる力 as ‘zest [...] Wood ashes melting snow on bed prepared last fall for early spring planting. To take best advantage of the Zone 4 growing season, get started now —outside. The tenderest spinach,the crispest radishes and nuttiest arugula are grown in the cold. They can survive the inevitable returns to winter over the next couple months [...]
Lindsey with Rosemary Gladstar If you’ve dabbled in herbalism,you probably recognize Rosemary Gladstone and her role in helping to birth the herbal renaissance that we so benefit from today. My young friend,Lindsey and I heard her speak in Burlington last night, showered with entertaining gems of wisdom from the sprightly master of herbs. But the main message was dead serious [...] Sampling pure sap from first run. Yesterday we rushed home from work to tap the maples in our little sugar bush before dark. With a forecast of frosty nights in the teens and warm days well above freezing, it made no sense to wait. Clear sap nearly poured out of the taps the moment they were inserted into the [...] hoop house in last week’s snow storm Yesterday’s sun ignited temperatures close to 90 degrees in the hoop house. Soil is now fully thawed and the winter-weary plants are stretching out and starting to grow. It felt incredibly good to putter around, weeding,planting,watering in the sun without a jacket. With the long range forecast showing outdoor temps above freezing every day [...] Every spring arrives with our bodies having aged another year. Squatting,lifting, pulling,and all the movements needed for gardening differ from those for winter sports or chores and are always tough for bodies that spend a majority of the waking hours sitting at desks or in cars. The result —spring brings sore and aching muscles and even acute agony. [...] | ||||||
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