Mrs. McGregor
For the past month I have been in a battle with a groundhog.
When we returned from our trip to Yellowstone we saw the evidence of someone else's buffet. Within another day or two, three of our four zucchini's lost their stem, all the greens and beans, and herbs were enjoyed by a furry foe.
Harvesting garlic with baby greens coming in!
I did not realize how emotional this would leave me! We created a garden to keep the deer out- which it does, but we had not secured the space to bunnies and groundhogs. I went full “Mrs. McGregor”. In comes the wire cages, bunny spray along the bases, reinforcing fencing and ultrasonic sound machines. I was NOT going to let this groundhog destroy all of our hard work. Yes, we borrowed a live trap. I wanted him GONE!
I was hoping maybe some part of our plant would survive. Maybe if I let the plant stick around long enough it would be okay. But in the meantime, I’ll plant new seeds and see what comes. I was coming to terms with the losses and it helped that he choose to move to a new home.
Then comes an epic heat wave. None of my baby sprouts came up. (Deep sigh) That’s okay, I will plant ANOTHER crop. This time I will protect the gentle babies with a sun screen. As I filled my cart with options, I paused long enough to question- what did people do for sun protection before Amazon? Mulch. They put a loose mulch over the seedlings and that is all they really need.
There is a second planting of greens and this time a light covering of leaves to protect them.
Ten days later- both plantings are emerging. I will have more lettuce, arugula, romaine and kale than any human will ever need. I will NOT be a part of any zucchini meme this year, but I will be giving away greens like it is my job. If you see me- I hope you like greens!
With the zucchini plants officially gone, I was seeing these vast open spaces of opportunity. What can I plant now, for a late fall crop? Again, researching- what do I plant next? Women for generations had their garden on a revolving door to build and store for winter. I need to think about crop rotation.
What’s next?
I ordered late fall seeds of radishes, beets, green onions, snow peas, and carrots. I have time before the first frost. I get to plant new crops!
Today, I harvested the garlic and placed my new seeds for my fall harvest. I realized when I collect these seeds bounty, the garlic will be going back in. Full circle.
This got me thinking- not all seeds are planted or fruit harvested at the same time. My garlic was planted late last fall just before the snow to be harvested in July. My peas in April, tomatoes were purchased from a greenhouse to ensure enough time to come to maturity. Every seed has its season, ideal sun, amount of water, and time until harvest.
You do too.
Just because you may need all of winter to mature does not make you any less than the 24 day spinach.
The grand plans I made last winter are no more. But sometimes you need a groundhog to mix things up and teach you the lessons of loss, opportunity and potential.
This Week’s A Door Within:
Are you ready to bear fruit or ready to be planted?
To our own seasons,
💗Ashley
