While summer is still many moons away, I have taken a few steps that create a tenuous thread that links the cold wet miserableness of today with the hot, heady endless days of late summer. I sowed my pepper seeds. I normally do this with great fanfare on the 1st of August, however this year I was somewhat detained by the warm sea and sun of the South Pacific. If I was to be late with this task that holds so much anticipation then I suppose this excuse is good enough.
Only once the backlog of travel stained clothes were taken care of and the mountain of tasks and commitments that materialised in my absence and demanded my immediate attention were dealt with, was I able to think about the garden. I spent the first two days back toiling away indoors and the garden didn’t even get so much as a backward glance.
But that couldn’t go on, spring is imminent and my poor garden needs my immediate attention too. To add insult to injury it rained yesterday. A lot. All day and all night. This is not good news for an overgrown garden. The land needs to settle and the sucking noise needs to do its job of reducing the water table to somewhere below the surface instead of floating above it. It will take days, provided it doesn’t rain again. Mowing and weeding are out of the question for now and the garden continues to wear its unloved persona, despite this being furthest from the truth. Judging by the state of my soft clean hands, my persona doesn’t scream out gardener, which is trapped within, dying to get out. This situation couldn’t go on.
So I did what I could do – I got out the seed raising mix and sowed some seeds. Experience has taught me great restraint. Most summer crops do not gain great benefit from being sown so early and if anything I’d be making a rod for my own back tending to poor performing plants and trying to get the best out of them. So I hold back. Just the chillies and the peppers. And maybe a few brassicas – they don’t mind it cold, and some of the leafy greens and maybe some salad. By the time they are big enough I may want to relinquish my desire for comfort food and eat salad alfresco in the thin weak light of the extended spring evenings.
My hand hovered momentarily above my seed box, until I came to my senses. Anything more than this is too risky. This would be enough for today. And with this token effort towards feeling like a gardener again, the summer season has begun. Hooray.
Come again soon – the garden is in desperate need of whipping into shape.
Sarah the Gardener : o )
Awesome update Sarah looking good as always must do vid of new green house and garden tour again so watch this space as they say
Thanks Linda. I’ll look out for your update. A new greenhouse is so exciting.
Cheers Sarah : o )
Welcome back. I am panting seed for my winter garden. It is always exciting to begin a season. This year I will plant for the first time celeriac and parsley root. Gene
Thanks Gene. I have just planted some Celeriac. I am seeing if starting early improves the harvest. I can’t say I have had a lot of success with it yet, but I’ll keep trying. All the best with your new seedlings. Cheers Sarah : o )
Aren’t you good! I hVent planted a thing yet .. And I’m not going to either. I should plant peppers and the likes too now but I’ve decided this year I’m going to buy them and see if I can’t get them producing earlier. Welcome home Miss 😄
Hi Julie. I think going away makes you feel like you have missed something and need to catch up, so you are more productive than you would have been in the those two weeks. I probably would have spent them procrastinating! I love the variety you can get from seeds. I’m trying a few new ones (to me) this year. And I do love watching those first seeds emerge. I will have to pop across to see your garden as I catch uo on everything I’ve missed.
Cheers Sarah : o )
Hi Sarah,
The seasons fly by at an alarming rate don’t they? There you are sowing chillies for spring, whilst yesterday, on the other side of the world, I was sowing Cauliflower and Cabbage for over wintering 😊 x
Hi Elaine. I know what you mean. I always think I have heaps of time over winter to do projects, but once you take out the rainy days and the otherwise busy days you aren’t left with too much time at all. I still have loads to do and less than 3 weeks of winter left. Eek! I hope you have great success with your brassicas.
Cheers Sarah : o )
“just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snow, lies the seed that with the sun’s love in the spring becomes the rose.” Your post reminded me of the song that Bette Middler made famous that we used in our wedding 33 years ago yesterday. Thanks for that!! Happy getting ready for the garden.
Hi Lucinda. That’s a great song. Happy Wedding Anniversary. It is quite soggy in the garden at the moment so it isn’t really ideal to work in the garden just yet, but soon enough. I will be a fab season.
Cheers Sarah : o )
Hope you have a good season. We are still waiting on most of our harvest.