Why do I say that gardening is magical? Because all you have to do is have the intent to garden and Nature literally rushes in. Plants love us and want us to care for them, and, in return they give us their bounty of nutrition as in the gorgeous bowl of mixed veggies I collected this morning. So, once again, I urge you to begin a garden, if you haven’t already. There is nothing like the magic of planting seeds and watching them sprout, grow, flower, fruit, and eat! And, it’s so easy to do.
Even if it is snowing where you are right now, you can still start to think about the garden you want to plant in the spring. Go on the web, or send for some organic seed catalogues. They are filled with gorgeous tantalizing pictures of all the things you would love to grow and eat. This is one of the most fun things about gardening; visualizing the vast fertile abundant harvest you will have. And even before that, the visual beauty of all those different colored leaves and flowers will lift your spirit and open your heart.
When your seeds arrive, you can plant them in 4” pots and put them in a sunny window. They will willingly sprout, and you will have a head start when it is time to plant them outdoors. There is nothing like the smell and taste of fresh herbs which are all fairly easy to grow indoors.
Now you may say, “I don’t have time.” But how long does it take to plant a few seeds and spray the surface to keep it moist until they sprout. Or, “I don’t have the space.” But now, you can garden in containers and it is fun and easy. They even have self watering pots now, which I have tried, and they work really well especially with greens like lettuce, spinach, collards and kale. They can all easily be started indoors and thrive in containers on your deck/porch or lanai depending on where you live.
But, you say, “What if nothing grows or I forget to water it?” These are just a few of the fears people have about gardening. Well, no worries. Nature has your back. You can’t do it wrong. Gardening is all about experimenting. Think about everything you plant as an experiment. I guarantee you will learn something about it or yourself in the process.
For example, this year I planted a lot of purple cabbage, because I love the color, and I was looking forward to mounds of pink cole-slaw. Well, it just didn’t grow as I had envisioned. And, it didn’t take long to realize that the summer weather was just too hot for it. It was beautiful to look at but it wouldn’t ‘head up’, as they say. Also, it was long past its due date of three months. I was feeling like a failure, when the insight came to me. It would be perfect for making sauerkraut! Wow! What a concept! My husband just happens to know how to make it, too. I suddenly remembered, it was his love of fermented food that had prompted me to plant so much cabbage, in the first place. Duh!
So, I harvested all the leafy stuff and presented it to him. He got busy right away and chopped it up. Then he made “a slurry”, as he calls it, which means anything he puts in the vita mix and churns up. This time he put about 2cups of beets I had pickled, about 3 tablespoons salt, and, of course, here on Kauai, we added about 1 finger of olena/turmeric, 2 fingers of ginger, and a few hot Hawaiian chili peppers. He then mixed the slurry with the cabbage and placed it in 1gal. white plastic bucket. On top of the mixture goes a plate weighted down by a glass jar filled with water. This keeps the mixture submerged; the liquid should cover the plate. As long as the cabbage mix is covered with the salty slurry, no deterioration can happen and the fermentation flourishes. It is now fermenting nicely in a cool corner of the house. Between the red beets and the purple cabbage we will have the most intoxicating fuchsia sauerkraut happening in about 7-10 days. Yum! And it’s so good for you. If you also happen to be a fermentation freak, or want more information on the process, see Wild Fermentation, by Sandor Ellix Katz.
So, you see, no matter what happens in the garden, you are always a winner. If you think of gardening like I do--as one big experiment after another--the magic will amaze you, and, you will want to keep on conducting experiments. It’s just that simple. This time I will plant my cabbage in the fall when it is rainy and cold. Well, cold is relative here on Kauai.
Keep experimenting, and the magic will follow.
Get growing and have some fun.
the magic gardener,
marissa henderson
theplantspirits@gmail.com
www.theplantspirits.blogspot.com
Even if it is snowing where you are right now, you can still start to think about the garden you want to plant in the spring. Go on the web, or send for some organic seed catalogues. They are filled with gorgeous tantalizing pictures of all the things you would love to grow and eat. This is one of the most fun things about gardening; visualizing the vast fertile abundant harvest you will have. And even before that, the visual beauty of all those different colored leaves and flowers will lift your spirit and open your heart.
When your seeds arrive, you can plant them in 4” pots and put them in a sunny window. They will willingly sprout, and you will have a head start when it is time to plant them outdoors. There is nothing like the smell and taste of fresh herbs which are all fairly easy to grow indoors.
Now you may say, “I don’t have time.” But how long does it take to plant a few seeds and spray the surface to keep it moist until they sprout. Or, “I don’t have the space.” But now, you can garden in containers and it is fun and easy. They even have self watering pots now, which I have tried, and they work really well especially with greens like lettuce, spinach, collards and kale. They can all easily be started indoors and thrive in containers on your deck/porch or lanai depending on where you live.
But, you say, “What if nothing grows or I forget to water it?” These are just a few of the fears people have about gardening. Well, no worries. Nature has your back. You can’t do it wrong. Gardening is all about experimenting. Think about everything you plant as an experiment. I guarantee you will learn something about it or yourself in the process.
For example, this year I planted a lot of purple cabbage, because I love the color, and I was looking forward to mounds of pink cole-slaw. Well, it just didn’t grow as I had envisioned. And, it didn’t take long to realize that the summer weather was just too hot for it. It was beautiful to look at but it wouldn’t ‘head up’, as they say. Also, it was long past its due date of three months. I was feeling like a failure, when the insight came to me. It would be perfect for making sauerkraut! Wow! What a concept! My husband just happens to know how to make it, too. I suddenly remembered, it was his love of fermented food that had prompted me to plant so much cabbage, in the first place. Duh!
So, I harvested all the leafy stuff and presented it to him. He got busy right away and chopped it up. Then he made “a slurry”, as he calls it, which means anything he puts in the vita mix and churns up. This time he put about 2cups of beets I had pickled, about 3 tablespoons salt, and, of course, here on Kauai, we added about 1 finger of olena/turmeric, 2 fingers of ginger, and a few hot Hawaiian chili peppers. He then mixed the slurry with the cabbage and placed it in 1gal. white plastic bucket. On top of the mixture goes a plate weighted down by a glass jar filled with water. This keeps the mixture submerged; the liquid should cover the plate. As long as the cabbage mix is covered with the salty slurry, no deterioration can happen and the fermentation flourishes. It is now fermenting nicely in a cool corner of the house. Between the red beets and the purple cabbage we will have the most intoxicating fuchsia sauerkraut happening in about 7-10 days. Yum! And it’s so good for you. If you also happen to be a fermentation freak, or want more information on the process, see Wild Fermentation, by Sandor Ellix Katz.
So, you see, no matter what happens in the garden, you are always a winner. If you think of gardening like I do--as one big experiment after another--the magic will amaze you, and, you will want to keep on conducting experiments. It’s just that simple. This time I will plant my cabbage in the fall when it is rainy and cold. Well, cold is relative here on Kauai.
Keep experimenting, and the magic will follow.
Get growing and have some fun.
the magic gardener,
marissa henderson
theplantspirits@gmail.com
www.theplantspirits.blogspot.com
