Hello and welcome to the March 2021 edition of Horizons Magazine. Spring has definitely sprung, As the oaks over my property get their leaves back, the jungle is returning! In October when they finished building the house next door, it took away many oaks and pines that shielded my property from view. Suddenly partially exposed, I planted 30+ loquat saplings and 40+ turks’ cap bushes just inside the property line and they are all coming up. Sweet!
In October I also began growing vegetables and herbs from seed: The bush beans, collards, kale and lemongrass are in the ground and I’ve been harvesting every few days. On the kitchen windowsill, I harvest daily from the celery, romaine and scallions I grew from grocery scraps. Parsley from seed is taking off in the hanging pots outside. I love parsley.
Tomato plants from seeds and slices of Roma tomatoes from the grocery, bell peppers and eggplant from seed in pots and in the ground are getting tall and leafy, not producing yet. Radishes and carrots in grow pots are leafy but no fruit yet. Spinach, zucchini, yellow squash, corn, long beans, gourds are slow or frost got them. I just planted another round.
Herbs I planted were 3 types of basil, rosemary and thyme. Sweet basil doesn’t grow well for me any time I’ve bought those little pots of it. Thai basil, holy basil and thyme grown from seed are doing well in hanging pots outside.
I did a lot of trial and error and a lot of researching online before I bought seed or planted. I learned that planting during a water sign moon (a Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces moon) will indeed germinate seed faster. I had to look at the Llewellyn Astrological Calendar to see when those dates were, you can Google it online.
It’s empowering to see that I can grow at least a little of my own food if I want to, or it I had to. It’s the reason I’ve added more articles each month on food independence, so friends can check it out also. That’s also part of spiritual practice. Mind, body, spirit is all about finding balance, whereever you are, whatever situation you find yourself in.
No, I don’t think there will be a civil war and groceries will become scarce, I am just excited at being able to have tomatoes that taste like tomatoes and to never run out of parsley, basil or collards. Growing vegs is not only a fun pasttime and gives me the best flavor and personal satisfaction of participating in the process, it makes me less wasteful, more aware of the cycle of birth and ‘death,” more aware of the consciousness within everything. Plants talk and listen.
I get such personal contentment and satisfaction out of it that I want to turn everyone else onto it, too. I’d like everyone to feel what I feel and see what I see when I look around me. Yes, a lot of sh*t is going down out there in Bizarro world but I’m happy and I’m hopeful. Yes, these are uncertain times and a lot of misguided souls are seeking connection in scary ways, thinking they’ve found kindred spirits in extremist groups, not knowing what they’re getting themselves into. Sometimes we need to remove ourselves from a situation – or relationship — and leave people to work things out for themselves. Maybe grow a few vegetables. If you’re a loner, parsley is a great companion, very talkative. A good listener as well.
Enjoy our offering this month.
Hari Om