My lettuce is in bloom and Im anticipating the tender baby plants that will
sprout as soon as it starts raining. Thats not a typo. I said lettuce.
In my less-than-tidy garden, I enjoy watching the complete cycle of plant life.
From the young seedlings to the blooming glory of native asters, clarkia and of
course poppies, to the more practical and delicious lettuce, chard, and other
veggies. This year all of my tomato plants came from the compost pile rather than
the garden store. And I had pumpkin seedlings to give away, without ever buying
a pumpkin seed.
I must say, I sort of fell into this habit rather than it being a deliberate act,
at least at first. One year, we had a very hot spell early on and the lettuce
in the planter boxes in the front yard bolted and shot up very quickly. I decided
not to pull them up because I was curious about what would happen.
What happened is that I got a bonus second crop. Not only in my planter box, but
all over the neighborhood, in the cracks in the driveway, in the dirt at the base
of my London plane trees and even in my next-door neighbors yard. Some I
took out with the lawn mower, others I let grow where they fell. Most were in
the box and saved me the trouble of planting again.
Usually I let this cycle continue for a couple of years then dig everything up
to practice some crop rotation, planting something else for the next few years.
I have been entertained by gardening: By watching the seasons change (even in
the subtle central coast!), by experimenting with dry-farming certain plants such
as tomatoes, and by letting my plants do their thing and teach me what their flowers
look like and how to collect their seeds.
Primarily I have learned that Mother Nature will take care of us if we take care
of her.
Debbie Bulger
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