Thursday, March 6, 2008

Garden Anxiety

OK... so I have my plot; I have about 50# of compost, I have seedlings and seeds and.... what?!?! Snow and hard freezes are a threat? Now??


I guess my 'greenhouse room' will have to remain intact until I am absolutely sure I can put the new guys outside. I know- because of the way I started them - I am going to have to 'harden' these delicate little things a bit but... I want spring NOW!


(Yes, I am a little impatient)



My Da was an avid gardener; and to tell the truth (in my memories) it seemed as though he was always doing something in his garden- regardless of the season. These blogs are good for enticing the old memories to the surface. He also started many of his plants inside, but in the cellar under a florescent light (not all warm and cozy like I am doing). In retrospect I imagine that there was a reason for that way of doing things.


8 comments:

Woogie said...

yeah soft ...what do you think Da's secret was...i mean our grand parents were awesome gardners,,what the heck were those secrets?? i gotta dig out my grandma's secrets...i have them..i just never really look..

Missa said...

My Da had a great love for the earth, a great respect for nature and a gift that was incomparable when it came to his garden.

To the best of my recollection, Da never worked in the garden angry (sound familiar?); he always showed care to the earth and any of the critters around (he grew sunflowers and thistle for the birds, corn for the squirrels, and the rabbits... well the rabbits liked to taste darned near everything).

There was love in Da's hands.

Row and Sow and Mow and Hoe and said...

This is so wonderful! I have to go for right now, though (don't have time to comment) but I'll be back to comment more on this wonderful post! I just love it!

Missa said...

G'morning Row!

Thanks... my Da was a wonderful man and what ever gardening instinct I have it is from his genetic makeup. My mom- his daughter - is the same. Now that lady has impressive gardens! There are folks in Nashville who come by her yard a couple of times a year - EVERY year - to see the progress.

I guess it is a 'family' thing.

Woogie said...

These blogs Soft are healing my soul. I too have though of my mother, my grandmothers..the rhubarb, the strawberries, the pies, the love and I so needed this change...big hugzz for making it happen!...

Row and Sow and Mow and Hoe and said...

Your recollections are like mine and it's where we all get our love for this stuff. The special attention to the yard critters is probably my fav :) When sweet corn (for human consumption) is being picked here, the farmer invites us to pick all we want. Silver Queen (good stuff). We always enjoy picking the too mature ears for the squirrels! Yep - we fuss at the lovelies and bang on the windows hollering "GET OFF THE BIRD FEEDERS" (and when July rolls around, we go into a hot, wet corn field and pick a bushel for em!)
I have to tell you about the time I put field corn (feed corn - the ears) out for the squirrels. THey buried it! Each kernel! I bet I pulled up 300 or more corn plants that year from the yard!

We have a special squirrel who's hanging around now (I'm so excited over this squirrel!) In this area we have only gray squirrels (and they are indeed gray). This one is RED! Red as a fox! But it's not a fox squirrel, or maybe it is - (we can't decide.) We know it's a "mutant" (and she's building a nest in one of the tallest pines!) Maybe we'll see little red babies hanging around pretty soon :)

OMG I see talk of Rhubarb! I don't know if my folks grew it or if a friend used to give it to us, but when I remember those reddish pink stalks on the counter and my mom making rhubarb strawberry pie!! Out of this world!! Is anyone growing rhubarb?

Missa said...

Rhubarb Pie! Oh my! I surely do remember that one. My grandmother made that one often.

Da always gave back to mom nature (not sure if my grandmother would have on her own, but...Da was the ruler of his world). Peanuts... he grew lots and lots of peanuts to share with the critters (we roasted a whole bunch of them too and made peanut brittle).

I do seem to recall there was usually a half dozen corn stalks that went for seed and feeding the wild things.

Now, the strawberries were a different thing altogether; he had scarecrows and wind driven pinwheels and sock streamers all over the place to protect his berries. He was very protective of the orchard too- peaches, apples, crabapples, huge dark red plums... I think I need an orchard and a water garden!

Row and Sow and Mow and Hoe and said...

Peanuts??? oh my.... that's so neat (your story about Da and the peanuts and orchards). And what's also neat is - we love peanuts in this house. We make peanut brittle, too, and there's always (almost always) a tin can of sugar peanuts on the counter). I love to get green peanuts for making boiled peanuts!!

I LOVE scare crows and guarders of the gardens.