Sunday, March 16, 2014

February Gardening in New England 2014

compost_bin

 

This was gardening in New England in February, 2014.  This is the path to the compost bin where I walked in my slippers every morning, risking frostbite, to deposit the kitchen scraps in the compost bin. Gardening is all about optimism, the belief that the future holds promise, that this frozen mess will eventually thaw and the compost bin will heat up and yield some black gold to enrich my (now frozen) garden beds. We hope, we trust, we pray to our gods, but just realize, summer does not always come.

 

My maternal grandmother, Eva Weinert Thess,  came to the US from Hungary in 1905. Her ancestors were ethnic Germans who emigrated to the Batschka in the eighteenth century after several years of unending winter in the Rhine river valley. Valentin Weinert arrived in Tschonopel about 1786 with his first wife, Anna Catharina Schinck. None of their children born in their native village of Niederburg came with them, so it is assumed they died of starvation before the Weinerts emigrated to Hungary. If Valentin had not chosen to make that long but optimistic journey to a better land, I would not be posting here.

 

OK, OK, summer is definitely coming this year, I promise. It is now March and Daylight Savings Time has arrived. The sun is much stronger and there is still daylight when I drive home from work. The snow is melting. The oil truck finally made it up the driveway so we have heating oil. And the onion seedlings have sprouted under the grow lights. I have my seeds in hand and the 2014 gardening season has begun!

 

onion_seedlings

5 comments:

  1. Are you sure spring will arrive?!? Here it is mid-March in Maine and I still have over a foot of frozen snow that needs to melt. I can't believe you walk to the compost bin in your slippers. At least I slip on my snow boots and tuck in the legs of my PJs before bringing the compost outside in the morning :)

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    Replies
    1. Of course I believe spring will come. Why else would I be starting seedlings in February? This year though we might need a little fairy dust.

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    2. Yea, wearing snow boots may help prevent frostbite.

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  2. It's gotten such that we can no longer add to the compost pile — it's frozen and we fear it's too much for the earthworms!

    ReplyDelete
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