Saturday, January 05, 2008
I'm a lazy winter gardener
Libba Wolfe
Libba Wolfe's column appears twice monthly in Extra.
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There are two types of winter gardeners. One group goes full bore with greenhouses, basements rigged with grow lights and every sunny window sill at some stage of cultivation.
I'm a proud member of the other group. We welcome a couple of months to catch up on books, closet cleaning and naps. But, by mid-January, I'm starting to crave a little green. A little bit of green and a whole lot of easy.
As soon as the holidays are over and the decorations are put away, I start a few dozen paperwhite narcissus bulbs. Forcing them to bloom indoors is ridiculously easy. I crowd three to five bulbs on a 4-inch bed of stones in a tall glass vase and fill with water to just the base of the bulbs. Add water when needed. I'm always amazed at how quickly the roots grow and the stalks shoot up. In no time the house is filled with their dreamy fragrance. If they're forced in a tall vase, there won't be any need to stake them when they're full-grown.
We've had a few Tex-Mex meals lately and I've saved the avocado pits. I let them dry overnight and then remove the papery shell. I poke three or four toothpicks partway in around the middle of the pit to use as support in a small glass or jar. Submerge about one-third of the flat end in water. The pointed end should face up and stay dry. I keep mine on a shelf in the bathroom because they shouldn't be in sunlight until the tap root appears in about 10 weeks. You can even keep them in a kitchen cabinet if you can remember to add water as needed. After the root begins to grow, a green shoot will peep out. When that's a few inches tall you can pot in soil and move outside when the weather is warm.
My brother used to have a potted avocado forest on his porch. They'll grow for years if you bring them in before frost next fall.
Right about now, the garden shops are filling the racks with seed packets. The colorful pictures of new plants and old favorites whip me into a frenzy to get started. I have to remind myself of past ambitious attempts at starting seeds indoors. Memories of muddy tarps in front of the living room windows and the leggy, pale seedlings that resulted bring me back to earth with a thud.
I don't have the space, equipment or patience. I'll let the professional growers take care of the trays of bedding plants.
But as soon as March arrives, the garden to-do list is demanding and it's easy to miss the tiny show at the heart of all that work. Why deny myself a close look at the seed-to-plant miracle?
With a simple pot of herbs near the kitchen sink, I can check out the miniscule spot of green as the shoot emerges and the stem stretches and leaves unfurl. If you're sharing the germination process with a child, consider planting basil, dill or catnip, because they can germinate in as few as five days. Parsley, sage and oregano can take a month.
Start with a clean plastic pot. A yogurt container will do. Poke holes in the bottom to provide good drainage. Fill with potting soil and follow the directions on the seed pack. Water very gently. A sprayer should do the trick. Cover with a layer of plastic food wrap to create a miniature greenhouse. Put in a sunny window or under a fluorescent house lamp. Light and water are crucial.
When the green shoots appear, remove the plastic and continue gentle watering. When the seedlings have a few sets of leaves, you can separate them and repot in bigger containers. Everything is gentle. Remember, these are babies. You can harvest your herbs by late winter and they can move outside by late spring.
Just a little bit of gardening goes a long way in the middle of winter.
