Easter Planting

The weather wasn't too bad today so after our "egg hunt" this morning (plastic eggs with candy, etc.), my younger daughter and I went out in our garden for a little bit. We still have lots of clean-up to accomplish next week and look forward to a fun year in our small, home garden. Nice shot to the left of our grape hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum) starting to bloom as they are at RBG. As with most young gardeners, our younger daughter likes to pick out seed packets with abandon at the garden centers. We've rarely discouraged her but end up with enough seeds for a 10 acre farm. We decided it was a good time to get outside and sow our lettuce (Lactuca sp.) seeds and carrots, both of which will be in containers at this point in time. We planted three windowboxes with each of three different lettuces and look forward to some quick germination. The carrots (Daucus carota) we planted included 'Dragon' and 'Scarlet Nantes'. 'Dragon' was from the Seed Savers Exchange (www.seedsavers.org/) and these carrots have a red/purple exterior and a yellow/orange interior. 'Scarlet Nantes' is an heirloom variety known for shorter carrots (6" or so) but quick growth (62 days to maturity) and a nice sweet taste. Carrots in containers need to have consistent moisture to develop properly. We also planted some cat grass (Avena sativa) that our cats enjoy nibbling and maybe this will distract them from the houseplants! Cat grass is really just the common oats and is very easy to grow from seed. In a couple of weeks, our daughter will help mom sow other seeds around the gardens (poppies, zinnias, nasturtiums, etc.) as has always been the tradition. We will be enlisting her help with "weed patrol" as we find it difficult to keep up, even with our little space. Growing our vegetable in containers has been fun and rewarding and we hope both of our daughters will become home vegetable gardeners when they are older and pass that interest on as well to their children. It can all start with a simple pack of seeds and encouragement.

I was reading the Wisconsin State Journal today and their was an article entitled "Sowing Terror" by Virginia A. Smith of The Philadelphia Enquirer. The article focused on the increasing market for "survivalist seeds" further precipitated by all the world turmoil, disasters, etc. There are many companies cashing in on people's fears and selling these survivalist seed collections for "apocalypse gardens" after world calamity strikes. I think the value of traditional seed banks also includes the consideration that recovery from world disasters also includes the safety of our food sources, namely vegetable seeds. Some of these offered seed collections are sold in "military-grade" containers that are virtually indestructible. Other concerns of those purchasing these seeds include government distrust and the theory that large companies might corner the market in seeds thereby affecting availability and cost. I don't begrudge people the option of purchasing such collections but don't see myself doing it. The recent disaster in Japan has helped spur sales of these "survival seed collections" and skeptics of this "angle" point out that growing food in a "post disaster" world goes beyond seeds to include soil considerations, the availability of water, basic gardening knowledge, insect/disease awareness, future seed saving knowledge, etc. Interesting. I just finished the book seen at the bottom. I recommend that everyone read Organic Manifesto by Maria Rodale (2010) and get some insight in to some of the "behind the scenes" information regarding chemical companies and the need for all of us to champion more sustainable agricultural practices like embracing organic methods thereby saving our planet from further damage.