Why is it that in a climate that can sustain a garden with ease there are so few? I saw a disproportionate number of blue tarps and sorry pickups. I saw a populace lulled by fast food chains and box stores. I saw people with smiley faces but no spring in their step. We have a magnificent country that should never ever be taken for granted. I fear complacency is seeping into the fabric of our lives.
To plant a garden is to have faith in day-to-day life. To embrace the mundane. How spectacular is pulling weeds? How does that activity stack up to a video game, to an action movie?
For over 14 years I have been trying to get as many of you to plant a garden as possible. To plant lettuce in a container on your deck. To hang a basket of fuschia by your entry door. Anything, no matter how small the effort. I am convinced you will be a better person for it. Besides, one thing leads to another. Before you know it your lettuce will become a whole salad, then broccoli, then artichokes, the list goes on. The more time you spend on your garden chores the more time away from the television. You can actually listen to your kids while you weed. You just may hear something very important.
We live at the end of the road, literally. We need to have at least a smattering of self-sufficiency. Are you ready for an earthquake? Probably not. Wouldn't it be nice to have a stash of your own organically grown potatoes, onions and squash? Canned green beans, peas, berries? Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage? Well? Think about this. You have probably moved here from somewhere else. Be grateful for a fresh start. Don't bring the mistakes along with you.
Sharpen your shovel, dig up a 12-by-12 patch of that grass, and plant some food. Now.
I reckon that this garden is 10 days later than it was last year. In an already short growing season, this is not helpful. But, hey, the peas are planted, they really like cool, misty, moist weather and this seems ideal. Before our climate so decidedly changed, I planted peas with gloves on and they were happy to break ground and produce all of the peas we could ever eat. They don't even mind being snowed on. The lettuce, spinach and chard are all in the ground.
We are eating lettuce and radishes from the greenhouse. The tomatoes, cukes and melons are looking excellent. But the basil looks forlorn, sort of yellow and tough.
I tend to overwater the greenhouse. If you are of this ilk, be sure to offer ventilation as compensation. I open both of the top vents and let the fan do the rest of the work, but keeping those top vents open really helps the situation immeasurably. Find a way to keep the air moving. What you do not want is a sodden mass of vegetation instead of a crisp, flavorful salad.
The nurseries will be opening soon. You will be at the ready. If you did not start your own plants from seed, you will find lovely specimens. Be warned that most of these plants have not been hardened off. This involves gradually introducing the seedlings to the rigors of spending the rest of their lives in the Far North. Be gentle. Have empathy. A few hours at first, gradually lengthening their time outside until they are spending the night out. Even at that you may consider covering them with floating row cover. Also protect them from direct sun and wind. You are shooting for Memorial Day weekend to plant your seedlings outside.
If you have not uncovered your perennials yet, make that your next gardening task. This wet weather has been perfect for burning the debris leftover from last growing season. I know there are those of you who insist on cleaning up the perennial beds in the fall but I let everything fall over, or I help it along, and use it for mulch. This has proven most successful. The foxgloves even make it through the winter this way. Cheap and easy, what a winning combination.
If you have invested in clematis may I remind you that there are different kinds and each requires a different pruning method. It depends on which one you have. Refer to your tag and prune accordingly. Also, they are late getting going so it may look dead at the moment but give it enough time and you will be rewarded. Do not be hasty with clematis.
If you did not clean up your raspberries in the fall, now is the time to tackle that job. Cut out the dead canes, they are very obvious, and offer support for the living.
Now really is the time to buy or improvise cages for many of your plants. Last year I failed miserably at this and what a mess I had to deal with. There is nothing sorrier that a columbine that you have allowed to run rampant to be suddenly brought to attention with a few stakes and some twine. Sorry indeed. Try to avoid this.
If you did not plant any spring flowering bulbs you must be regretting it. They are all so very lovely and welcome at this very moment. I have a tiny iris riticulata that is perfection in a flower. Make a note to yourself not to ever let another fall go by that you do not plant at least a handful of something under your peonies.
I have given you all of the encouragement to garden that I can muster for one column. Talk to your gardening neighbors for information on what grows best at your elevation. Go to the Homer Garden Club meetings the fourth Sunday of the month at City Hall at 2 p.m. Talk to each other, listen to each other.
Carpe diem.
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