You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January, 2008.
Seed saving is a passion of mine, my approach, although somewhat haphazard, has been a fun way to be a part of the cycle of the plants.
It’s mid winter- and that hard frost that wasn’t hitting us, did this week. Well what you can call hard for the NW region of the states. We just received a box of seed ordered through Seeds of Change, and i happened to begin to sort through the various wooden and metal bowls on top of the fridge. I discovered basil tops gathered last fall, set into a bowl to dry!
The seed was still in the plant’s ‘husk’, so i began to rub the seed husks in-between my palms, oh my- i had not been prepared for the intoxicating smell that was to be a part of the process- rich aroma of dried basil in the midst of winter …yum….the husks began to fluff up as i worked it, and the seeds made their way to the bowl. When it seemed i had done a complete job here, i worked the fluff a bit in my fingers, hoping the seed would use it’s weight to fall to the bottom of the bowl. Then i began a gentle wind with my breath to encourage the fluff out of the bowl and onto my kitchen floor. As i proceeded, the seed, heavy at the bottom, became more evident. A few of the husk’s remained, only because the seed had not been worked out of them. after finishing this- i realized the next step would be to sweep the floor! The floor sweepings made their way to the compost bucket, the seeds in a paper envelope- marked and ready to plant next month.
I’m looking forward to the transition my kitchen will make as it becomes a ‘green-house’ for most of our seedlings. Tim and Maria-Jose will nurture the chiles in their apartment. Becky will be nurturing tomatoes in hers.
This is the first year to have a continual documentation of this process, and i am so excited at the varying experiential knowledge we will bring to this- i do think that we’ll be learning a fair amount from the kids!!!
Blessings! Linda
We are getting ready for the next season! We are deciding how we will treat the soil, whether we will plant by tilling, double digging, or layering (also called sheet mulchin). This is an excerpt of the ways I am learning new vocabulary. English is not my first language and I’ve been in the US for 2,5 years only, so there is a WHOLE new gardening vocabulary I need to learn (yes, also forgive my grammar blurbs).
As you can see, I also learned about bottle neck gourd, which can be used as a tool or even an exact measuring for a 1 cup! We are planning on planting them outside of the people center so they can hang and give us some shadow while looking cool…
Next steps are making green houses to make seed beddings, get soil, rescue the seeds (Linda bought tons of them but we only got 2 on the mail… a mystery Linda will resolve soon)
We can’t wait to plant our seed beds in March! it is such a sacred await!
Last Tuesday we met with the kids of Ujima, the after school program at CPC, to discuss and decide what are we going to plant this season. This is a piece written by Olivier, age 9… we thought you might enjoy it…
Our Garden
“A place where people get to walk around and see how plants grow.
From my experience of [sic] planting peas, pumpkins and corn– then we harvested for the summer.
We made the pumpkins into a pumpkin soup… We also learned about the life cycle of the plants; how they start as a seed– its roots start growing then a leaf grows out of the ground… it grows more leaves, then it flowers. Then, the flower turns into a fruit or a plant; then the fruit gets eaten by an animal… The animal spits out the seed and if it gets underground it grows again. That is the life cycle of a plant.
Now I am looking forward to planting fennel; Linda says it tastes like licorice! I also want to plant tomato and basil because my dad can cook with them. The worms in the garden eat the food we don’t want and turn it into nutrients for the soil. Then the nutrients help the plants to grow.
…that’s the story of our garden.”
It is great to hear the kids talking about life cycles, processes, the importance of the soil, and community. We decided to plant cucumbers, tomatoes, blue corn, soy beans, mushrooms, and sooo many more great and yummy things. We will start preparing the soil in February (when the land is a little warmer), with an amazing Sheet Mulching Race!
seeds ordered. shipment confirmed. so much to ponder- double digging, layering, compost, planting as the sun begins to warm. readying my kitchen for the planting of seeds by many hands. urban life as a farmer- it’s about being creative! it is still too cold to be in the soil, it’s important to allow for the dormancy to live it’s cycle. this is a time for daydreams, while the nights tease of light frosts. it is a mild winter here thus far. which makes it hard not to have sights set too early. a time of gratitude for the 2 inch shoots of garlic lightly layered with a bedding of straw. a witness to the slow unfolding to buds forming on apple, plum and peach.
flowering red currant is beginning it’s early unfolding- soon hummingbirds will grace us with their beautiful dance as they feed at these peppery pink blooms on bare branches.
such subtle beauty in January- so much so that if we are not listening- it moves along without us!
Blessings unfold! Linda
