After a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, I am finding balance again and taking off unnecessary weight from my shoulders. I feel capable of pushing forward to seeing my visions take shape, acknowledging my power to do so and enjoying the process. How easy to forget it is that it's not the end result that matters, but the walk to get there. Each I day I feel I learn to walk a bit better, tiring less, savoring the sights a little more.
Working in the garden is something that keeps me afloat. I've come to the conclusion that I should have two different garden areas: a wild one and an orderly productive space as well. The area above is what will be the orderly space and here below is the wild one:
It's wild because it's more about letting the plants complete their cycles and give off seeds that will establish their roles in the ecosystem without me interfering too much. Also there is plenty of space there left for weeds to grow, as well as some plants that are unknown to me and that I will take care of so that I can learn more from them.
For example this little friend, which according to identification apps could be lactuca sativa, a wild lettuce. I had never seen this one grow around here so I'm excited to see how it develops. If you know for certain what plant it is please tell me in the comments.
Up front is a variety of kale that just started growing, but I didn't purposely plant it there. I'd say it's the winter red variety because the leaves went purplish during the winter. Behind is a romanesco broccoli that was rescued from @choli 's parent's garden as they like the old fashioned annual system so this was just going to be killed. Hopefully it'll give off seeds as I find it a very beautiful plant. So far, all the rescued plants are doing nicely and preparing to flourish.
Some swiss chard plants are growing here and there. They didn't do well last year but they survived the winter and are beginning to pull some strength. It really shows the value on not giving up on plants. If the conditions are hard on them, it's good to give them time to adapt.
I keep experimenting with lentils. Since I don't know anyone who has produced their own seed around these parts I just grab regular store lentils, sprout them and put them in the soil. Last year I was able to get a few pods but the lentils were very small. Nonetheless they benefited the soil since legumes fixate nitrogen, so maybe this year with better soil the results should improve.
Something really nice that is happening is the amount of carrot shoots I'm finding all over thanks to letting some plenty of carrots flower last year. It's also cool to start having the ability to identify plants from such an early stage so that you don't tear them out or step on them while doing something else.
That's all I'll be sharing for today. Before wrapping up this post I'd like to apologize to @riverflows for my bitterness the other day as I was going through a moment in which I felt everything was against me and responded to her kind words with sarcasm. I'm grateful for you always being there and supporting (and even if you were a Hive goodie goodie, there's nothing wrong with that, on the contrary). Hope you receive my apology.
Good night, till next time 🌱
Thanks for your apology here, @fenngen. I did catch it the other day but it means more here now your bitterness has evaporated a little. I appreciate it. I know you are going through a rough time, but that's even more reason to keep the ones that have your back closer than ever 💚🌸
Thanks 💚 I'll keep that in mind
That's some pretty good gardening! It can help you as you help it.
Yeah, I feel a nice simbiosis 😊
It is always good to treat every garden and individual crops very well. Crops need good attention and management to growth. I could see every aspect of the farm is taken care of. Thanks for your good work. My pleasure 🤣
Hahaha glad you appreciate the work
It can be seen that the soil is of good quality, it has a very good color, and it can also be seen that there is organic matter in degradation.
It is an ideal place for this planting.
Thanks for sharing it.
Regards
Lots of work put into getting it this way, was all clay at the beginning
This is amazing and what a great job you have done here, for keeping the garden neat and the crop healthy. Thanks for sharing this amazing post and have a wonderful day
Thanks you too 🌱
You welcome
Your garden is looking good so far this year. It's interesting that you can keep plants like kale over the winter and they start growing again. It's too cold here for too long in the winter for me to do that.
Are you sure it's colder and longer than here? Where do you live?
I live in the north central U.S., south of Lake Superior.