By Marilyn
I worked in a landscape nursery for years, The Greenery and the “2-minute warning” for spring was a small TNLA Garden Center Landscape Show in Mesquite. This weekend is that trade show. SPRING IS COMING…it is on our heels! November, December and January are typical regrouping and planning ahead for the next years projections and maybe a little down time. Pouring through the seed catalogs, ordering and by January having seeds planted in the greenhouse. Planting seed in the greenhouse is an on-going process starting trays of the seeds on heating mats, watching for seed emergence, joggling plants around, moving flats of seedlings to more efficient lighting and when every seed in tray has sprouted moving plants off heating mats. Daily chores are watering and monitoring of temperatures in the greenhouse. Next step is the bumping all seedlings to larger containers. Working in the greenhouse is relaxing and a welcome relief most winters when it is cold outside it is warm in the greenhouse.
Knowing spring is on my heels there is an aroused sense of urgency. In one month the fresh brew compost tea house has to be up and running (Really? That means a trip to Hamilton, Texas needs to happen very soon to pick up supplies!) Spring clean- up, bed prep and irrigation repair are on the radar. This year CSA Mentors are working with me and learning gardening techniques and processing the whole circle of sustainability. God grant me the wisdom to impart knowledge and instill the urgency of farming procedures without overwhelming our new comers. Have you ever tried to teach someone how to prepare a meal, the art of preparing a meal and have the bread, meat and side dishes coincide with one serving time is tricky. Prep time of each dish has to become instilled in the seasoned cook to orchestrate fine dining. In gardening, timelines have to be established and ingrained in the mind of the gardener. Indoor seed start happens 6 weeks prior to outdoor planting dates, garden prep really needs to be done in January or February, composting year round is necessary with a fair amount of finished product for February/March spring planting, asparagus a perennial needs to planted in February, to plant bulbing onions a gardening has to watch and seize the opportunity to plant onion slips in January. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant need to be bumped to a gallon size for the March planting dates. Just like the novice cook in the kitchen has to know the ins and outs of fine cooking procedures to prepare pleasantries at a meal. So are the timelines and knowledge of vegetables and the ability to recognize nature’s “2-minute warnings” because nature does not always play the calendar game but often throws curve balls of early spring, or late spring farmers have to be intuitive and willing to work with nature and not against her.
Our new venture, The Farm Girls from Garden Inspirations now on the radio talk show gardening series, “Ask the Pros” on Friday’s at 1:00p.m. aired its first show last Friday. It was exciting, fun and nerve racking all in the same. This platform is hoped to enlighten the viewer audience of the value of gardening, mentor and encourage both novice and seasoned gardeners. We will be talking about real food, local food and appreciation and encouragement of the local farmer.
The urgency of spring is on gardener’s heels but a sounding alarm is blaring across our nation. I hope you hear it! Wake up Americans and take blinders off your eyes, I speak for myself and I believe others, business has consumed Americans and this business has been unintentionally devastating to our upcoming generation. In our effort to “better” our lives with things, our business, running to and fro from work to soccer, to football and ballet. From church, to parent night out to baseball tournaments to play-dates…..we have lost our sense of direction. The end result has been politicians making decisions for us, fast foods and school cafeterias feeding our children and the disconnect from communication with our children, our neighbors and our extending families. Slow Food, community, families, health I hope “Our Voice” will reflect the need for Americans to return to the family dinner and knowing their food, knowing their farmer and knowing their next door neighbor and thus recreate a sense of community.
Per example, put some lawn chairs out in your yard and when your neighbor walks by use your Southern Hospitality and invite them for tea, invite their children to play soccer in your back yard while the parents relax, share gardening tips with each other and laugh and talk maybe attempt to solve the world’s problems and basically to know each other. This will save gas and time and each family will have time and the energy to sit down to a home cooked meal with their children and eat their locally grown, chemical free real food that they have grown from their own garden or purchased from their local farmer.
Why the urgency? Why the alarm? 40 per cent of Texas children are obese in Texas alone! Diabetes and hypertension is on the rise in children at epidemic levels. It is simple VOTE WITH YOUR FORK, VOTE WITH YOUR CHOICES, make yourself aware of what has happened to the food industry and why this epidemic of obesity in children has happened.
Just like we will nurture you in gardening…..we will be nurturing the food revolution right here, and right now. I hear the sound of spring coming…..I hear the alarm in our country sounding. What am I going to do…..I am going to plant a garden!!!!
