perpetual return
eternal sunshine
the green sticking from the ground
a carpet of life
seeking to transform
waste to nutrition
nutrition to waste
a circle of life
growth from the decaying life
life from the decaying
yesterday becomes the soil
for tomorrow's crops
| Front: salad rocket; Back: wild rocket |
I am astonished with how well my little project is coming along. There is an abundance of life. Mostly the things that I have planted, but there are also some new friends whom I really want to learn. It is always such a wonder to allow things to grow, and to learn new plants that just so happen to sprout next to the basil, the Swiss chard, or the garlic chives.
After about two weeks since building the raised bed from building waste, there is really an abundance of growth. For a while, I was nervous, few of the seeds sprouted in the time frame that I know they usually sprout.
The salad rocket and the wild rocket all sprouted in the week or so after planting the seeds, but the amaranth, which usually sprouts even faster, did not show any signs of life.
But this week, I was blessed with the most beautiful signs of life. Almost everything that I planted, has now sprouted, and amongst them even the what-I-hope-will-be nitrogen-fixing plants.
I have collected seeds from various wild plants, not all indigenous to the area. One of these plants, which I have collected over the years, is lupine. Or lupines. They have the most beautiful flowers; I have two varieties, purple and yellow - both almost neon in colour!
| Lupine seedlings |
Throughout the raised garden bed, I planted these lupine seeds that I have harvested over the years. And in the photographs above, you can see them sticking their heads through the ground between the many other plants, including the Swiss chard seedlings and the salad rocket.
| Swiss chard seedlings |
Speaking of, the Swiss chard seedlings (photograph on the left) also made their presence. At first, there were no signs of life from the many seeds that I planted.
I first thought that the seeds which I harvested were not healthy; maybe something happened during the growing season. But now, my worries have died off. Many many many seedlings have popped their tiny heads through the ground, which makes me really happy!
In the background (and in the photograph below), the transplanted Swiss chard is also visibly happy. I was worried about them as well, but luckily we had some rainy and cold weather that definitely helped with the transplanting. It seems like almost all of the transplanted Swiss chard plants established themselves.
I think there are only one or two that did not make it. In my books, this is definitely a win. As I noted in the previous post, the area where I originally grew them does not get enough sun. So, I thought the best thing to do at this stage would be to transplant them.
And I am so happy I did this, as I think I can almost begin to harvest from them again!
| Transplanted Swiss chard |
| Garlic chive seedlings |
Another happy face is that of the garlic chives. I planted them very densely, and now I am seeing signs that they are also alive and well.
The small hair-like growth is always a happy sight, as I love to use garlic chives in my salads and other dishes. Throughout the years, I have managed to grow hundreds of these plants, and the ones I transplanted along with the seeds that I planted are also doing well! (There is some evidence in the photograph on the right.)
In the recent past, I have used their flowers more for salads than allowing them to go to seed. The flowers smell like honey, and they have such a unique and distinct sweet taste. You get some of the garlicky-and-onion flavour, but not too much.
I cannot wait for them to flower again, as I miss their unique flowers.
And lastly, I am also seeing the basil coming through the ground. I am so happy about this as well, because with the crazy wind storm we had a couple of months ago, I lost most of my basil plants. I tried to trim them, as I wanted to see if they would grow back, but this did not plan out really.
But below, there are some signs of life (even if they are only beginning)!
| Basil seedlings |
I did not photograph the amaranth, but they are also coming along, even though I cannot believe they took so long to sprout.
And as is also visible from the first photograph in this post, the succulents are doing well. At least, they are not showing any signs of stunted growth or fading life...
For now, happy gardening, and keep well.
All of the writings and musings are my own. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D300.