What Do I Do Now?

As I walked my two dogs through the field next to my house this morning, I began to reflect on all of the things awaiting me in my garden. I needed to plant...no, I need to tie up...no, I need to move...no...the longer I contemplated, the more 'no's I began to hear. And I will admit, for a brief moment, I became discouraged; I was so looking forward to a beautiful day spent in my garden!

Now, there are always weeds which need pulling around my house, but I was anticipating something more; more rewarding, in my humble opinion, than simply beautifying my flower beds and garden. No, I was looking for something different but exactly what, I couldnt' pinpoint.

So in my state of monotony, I began to water every row of seeds I had planted, every tomato plant, until everything that was thirsty had had its roots quenched by the cool water.  I watered and listened. I heard every coo, chirp, flutter, and buzz, of birds, bees, crickets, frogs, and mosquitoes (which are horrific here in the summertime!). And then it struck me...I don't have to 'busy' myself every second of the day with chores. I can just experience my garden as I care for it! So that is precisely what I did!

The rest of my time in my garden was purely indulgent! I watered my flowers, my seeds, each vegetable or fruit plants and examined them closely for health and progress. I then dead-headed my flower boxes (dead-heading is the act of removing the dead flowers from plants, annuals in particular, so they continue to produce blooms),  tied up the rest of my peas (I do have three large rows of them...I love pea pods!!), and took a moment to establish, with-in myself, where my garden was at.

Several months ago, in March, I planted peas, radishes, carrots, and beets directly into my very cold garden soil. It took a little longer than normal, since it stayed so cold this spring, for my seedlings to finally germinate. One thing that is different for me now that I live in the High Desert is that in the Valley, if you plant seeds too early, the seeds rot. Here, if you plant too early, seeds simply take longer to peak their little green cotyledons out of the soft soil. And that's exactly what happened this year. Just when I had given up on my carrots, there they sprang; and my peas; and beets; and even my turnips and kohlrabi!! Exciting for me, and also more work that was warmly welcomed.

Chacoogia beets from last year! I'm so excited for
our beets this year.

If you haven't gathered it by now, I thrive on complication and difficulty. If someone says, "You can't do that on your own", or, "just wait for someone to help you", I immediately become defiant...if you don't think I can, I'm going to show you that I CAN! I have found myself trying and working about 10x's harder than I need to just to prove a point. Whether its to show others or it's just to prove something to myself, that's "how I roll!" (to borrow young'n speech ;)!

As I explored my gardens this afternoon, I became acutely aware of just how mature things had gotten. Since I have had to work more recently outside my home, I haven't paid as much attention to my spring crops as I should have. I have a flower on my peas! My radishes are ready to enjoy! My wintered over collard greens, spinach, and swiss chard are about to bolt (flower) on me! Needless to say, I have a lot of produce ready for the picking!!

When we step back for a moment and notice what our garden is doing and telling us, we realize that even when we believe things are stagnant, everything is continuing to grow and evolve. Don't see this as waisted time and effort by any means! Take the time to acknowledge growth and maturity. That is what I've learned this season; no matter how slowly I feel things are progressing, they are always mature far before I'm ready for them!

I think you can look forward to a few recipes involving collards or swiss chard. Cam loves radishes plain or in salads, so I doubt he'll let me try anything with them. Only time and abundance will tell though! Stay tuned!

Horseradish...very prolific! :)

If you have any good radish, collard,or swiss chard recipes...please share them! I love to try new recipes and experience new flavors!!

Until tomorrow: Live for today and embrace each moment. Our days are limited so we must truly appreciated them in their entirety. Not only will we be grateful, but we will be happy as well!

Much love!