Aries. Seeding. Shoots.

Travel

28 Mar

The beginning of Aries, also the spring equinox, marks the start to the new year emphatically. Shoots are surging up underneath the leaf litter of last year. Some warmth comes into the air. There is a stirring. I notice more predator activity at the equinoxes — lost chickens or ducks, coyote song in the night. There is unrest as schedules and winter hibernation and habits shift. For all its cheerful daffodils and pink blossoming trees, spring can be violent and unsettling.

It’s as if it takes an impetuous, a surge of energy to shake off the old year at last and brazenly put up your green pointed shoots above ground. They could equally be met with wind and hail or with delirious sunshine and pollinating insects. You just don’t know but you have to take your chances.

I began seeding spring greens. These germinate quickly with all the moisture and warmth beginning to abound. Tiny green strings of scallion, onion and leek unfurl from my seed-starting containers. Radish and arugula, mustard greens and orach pop their sturdy four-square cotyledons up in neat rows in a matter of days.

I hope to be eating tender new greens and tiny rosy roots within weeks.

I like to keep a small patch of arugula and red mustard to pick over every other day or so. By picking only the biggest outer leaves I keep the plants producing and I can eat a gorgeous, slightly spicy salad all spring.

I started a new salad bed right in the middle of a weedy patch near my front steps. Making sure there was a nice flat area about 6 feet by 3, I simply laid down a thick layer of cardboard with a wooden frame on top. I then filled it with 8 inches of compost and soil (about 4 wheelbarrow loads), firmed it down gently, started my rows of seeds and watered it. This technique is (almost) instantly gratifying. It works especially well with big-seeded plants like potatoes, fava beans, squash, or garlic. The cardboard needs time to break down and let the roots penetrate through. My greens enjoy their 8 inches of compost for a while but the next round of plants I put in there will do better, reaching down into the now weed-free soil below.

This is a way to open up new ground. You could start an entire garden this way. A patch that was cardboard with seed potatoes punched through and heavily mulched with straw will be solid green potato plants within weeks. All the cardboard will disappear within months and by next year you’ll have dug it over harvesting all the potatoes and have a fluffy garden bed ready for planting greens or onions.

Aries is the sign of initiating, of breaking new ground. It reminds us that bold action, new ideas, trying something unconventional is necessary to start something. It can look and feel a little crazy at first. Dragging sheets of cardboard into my lawn and dumping dirt on them feels a bit brazen. The rewards are clear and quick in cropping up.