March in the garden is shaping up to look an awful lot like February in the garden this year. We had a couple of nice 50 degree days two weeks ago, and I really thought I’d be able to plant my peas by now. But winter returned last week and we got another 6 or 8 inches of snow. As of this afternoon there was still an inch or two on the ground. I stood there for a while staring at the snow, as if I could will it to melt away if I stared hard enough.
The amount of plastic in the world depresses me. Lately I’ve been trying to buy less of it, instead finding ways to re-purpose things I already have or find more durable, less toxic alternatives. I used to always buy those cheap plastic seedling trays, and though I had every intention of reusing them for as long as possible, they would inevitably crack right down the middle over the course of a few back and forth trips between home and the community garden.
I also used to use those little biodegradable peat pots for my seedlings, but I never really felt great about using those either. Much like how though using a paper grocery bag is theoretically a little better than using a plastic grocery bag, I think we can all agree that its really better not to use a disposable grocery bag at all. I think its really better to just not use the little disposable seedling containers, whether they be made of plastic or paper or peat.
So this year I’m trying some alternatives. Continue reading
The garlic has been tucked in under a thick blanket of chopped leaves and hay and all is quiet in the garden. These days it’s dark by the time I leave work in the afternoon, so I only get over to the garden on weekends. Not that there would be much for me to do over there anyway, but I do miss my evening visits to the garden. Continue reading
The weather was chilly and grey today, and after a quick stop at the garden to check on things after work, I wanted soup. The first local asparagus turned up the co-op last week, and I had a bunch of it waiting at home in the fridge. This soup is very simple and barely takes half an hour to make, but it tastes like something very fancy. I want to eat it every day until the peas come in, and then I want to eat this soup with peas in place of the asparagus. Continue reading
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