Hope, in a Seed
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I had forgotten what March feels like up north until I talked with my Dad the other day. "How’s the weather?" I asked. "It’s in the 20 someth…eh, it’s cold," the hanging of his head at the end of a long Minnesota winter was audible through the phone.
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"Huh." I said and promptly changed the subject because it was doubtful that he wanted to hear about the 80 degree days we were having in the middle of March. While it’s no secret that I prefer colder weather from a comfort stand point, there is no denying that, given the proper protection, the growing season is much longer here.
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And so we’ve begun sorting, cataloging, and now planting. The cold frame has been planted in several times now, but this past week it was time for more. I pulled back the chicken wire, scooped down underneath the wood chip mulch, and pushed pea seeds down into the moist milk chocolaty soil, a four-year-old helper handing me each seed individually.
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And just yesterday their little heads became visible as they began to pop through – a miracle every time. New life brings hope for another growing season with more protection from chickens and grasshoppers and better plans for irrigation of the passive and watering can varieties. It also spurs us on for the weeks ahead where we will be starting trays of heat- tolerant tomatoes and an old Italian drying pepper and drought-tolerant cucumbers and Kazakh melons from seeds we saved last year.
I know there will be grasshoppers and chickens and unbearable heat and many, many buckets of water to haul to the garden, but right now in this starting of seeds I feel hopeful. We plant, we water, we pray, and we wait to see what the Lord has in store for us… because that’s what we do.
I was planting seeds today too, only in my basement germination box because outside it is cold and the ground is covered with snow. My greenhouse starts up on Tuesday. A greenhouse is a wonderful luxurious treat to have in these northern zones. You get spring smells just a little earlier, and it can help make those last few weeks of winter all the more bearable.
yes- the thermometer is firmly stuck at -17 this morning with a fresh coating of snow overnight ( added to the two feet still blanketing the fields).
Not safe to plant anything into the earth in this area of Ontario until the 20 of May( or later many years).Until then we knit by the fire and oggle seed catalogs and blogs were people can actually SEE bare earth! LOL
Oh how I wish I could be doing ANYTHING outside to prepare for the up coming garden season. I was going to start some of our seeds indoors a week or two ago, but with things still so cold I’m waiting till this week. We still have a solid foot of snow on the ground and it’s supposed to be back in the negatives tomorrow night (oh those mn winters). I must say I’m with your father and the hanging of the head. This time of year is difficult. If only the snow would at least melt… then maybe our chickens could remember what it feels like to have more room to roam (they refuse to go in the snow much). I am biting at the bit to get outside and start gardening. We are implementing some of Sepp Holzer’s methods on our property. Similar to the lasagne layers, but creating mounds far taller and using whole trees for the bottom layer of the mounds. Should be interesting. 🙂
Real Food and medicinal heirlooms: more precious than gold, under certain circumstances.
Beautiful to watch you & yours loving the Design and the Designer.
I may have to commiserate with your father shortly on those wintery Springs– MN is calling! LOL!
Do you have moringa seeds? Seems like it should love TX weather, and survive drought well. I haven’t tasted any yet, but trying to figure out how to grow it where the weather isn’t so warm, as the nutritional value just seems to be extraordinary.