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The Stylish Gardener

Leap Day Sowing

2/29/2016

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Well, I have dirt under my fingernails again, so it must be March...or close enough.  On a normal year today would be the first day of March, but since it's Leap Year we're still stuck in February. 

This is important because I usually do my first sowings in the garden on the first day of March.  And I had every intention of sticking to my plan...until I woke up this morning to a beautiful, sunny, spring-like day.  I stepped outside into the bright sunlight, and as the song birds chirped sweetly and the warm gentle breeze drifted past, I distinctly heard the garden calling my name. 

It had a desperate tone to it, too.

Immediately I decided that since it was Leap Day, I'd best honor the occasion (and my garden's plea) by leaping on into planting season...

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I dug my shovel into the soil and turned it over--the soil, not the shovel.  Or I guess I turned the shovel over too in order to dump out the soil, but that's beside the point. 

Once I got the soil prepped, it was planting time.

In went the peas, lettuce, kale, spinach, beets, chard, onions, and even some kohlrabi, although to be honest, I'm not exactly sure what it is.  But the picture on the seed packet was too pretty to resist, so in to the soil went the seeds.

That's not the first time I've done something like that.

Results vary. 

On a side note, I've recently discovered stretchy pants...I don't know where they've been all my life.  And I'd like to apologize in advance if I seem to be wearing them a lot in future pictures...they're just so dang comfortable. 

I'm sorry.  But I promise in the future to always wear long tops.  Believe it or not, I do have my pride.

Now back to our topic...

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Last but not least, I planted the potatoes.

Just look at the sprouts on these fellas!  I'd kept them stored in the basement over the winter for spring planting, which usually happens for them on St. Patrick's Day.  That's been the traditional potato-planting day in the Ozarks for as far back as anybody can remember, but after one look at these seed potatoes I thought I'd better get them planted. 

They were begging for it.  And I'm pretty sure I heard one or two of them say "thank you" after I covered them with that cool, rich soil.  

But I might have just been hearing things...it seems to have happened a lot today.

Even so, hearing things got me (and my seeds) outside and into the garden, and working in my garden always makes me feel good.  And I need to feel good after dealing with a longer-than-usual February this year.

But really, I guess having this extra twenty-four hours today actually worked out for the best.  After all, if it hadn't been Leap Day, I wouldn't have gotten a "jump" on the gardening season. 

Ha!


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    The Gardens...

    I'm drawn to plants with a purpose.  I like to grow things that have some sort of uniqueness to them: a great story, an unusual feature, a creative use.  So, heirloom vegetables, edible flowers, and herbs make up the bulk of my cottage style garden.  I also have a vegetable plot, berry patches, fruit trees, and herb and cutting flower beds.  In maintaining all this, I strive to be as organic as possible by using techniques like companion planting, rotating my crops, and composting kitchen scraps and yard clippings.  All this comes together to create a cleaner environment for my family, my livestock, and my gardens. 

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