Sprouting Peas and Waiting on the Other Seedlings

The peas I planted just a few days ago have sprouted.  While I hadn't planned on two years of peas in this same spot, I have it nonetheless.  I hope that the soil will benefit the future grapes here.  However, I love peas so much, and so does my four year old, that I'd hate to crowd out our little space for grapes only.  Perhaps in the future, I can make a trellis for a spot for peas, and still have the grapes in their permanent spot.

I have planted a seed for one new grape vine.  I decided that it was worth planting directly in the permanent spot, instead of starting it indoors.  If it fails, then I have seeds saved from last year.  If it thrives, then I'll feel confident in planting more.  If I have an abundance of seeds, then I am ahead of the game with seed exchange.  I have no idea if it's an heirloom seed.  I have only faith that these grapes belong here.  Seeing as how that's how the vineyard itself started, I have confidence that we'll see beautiful production in time to come.  I haven't yet seen any sprouts besides the peas and weeds.  We'll be attending their progress.

Also, in the vegetable garden, I've planted bull's blood beets, lettuce, lime basil, Italian parsley, cilantro, baby carrots, potatoes and cucumbers.  I have had good success with the heirloom varieties from Botanical Interests.  While my seeds are not all organic, the method I use for tending my garden is.  I have ambitions of moving toward a biodynamic, or at least biodynamic inspired, garden in the future.  I am not merely interested in withholding petrochemical based pesticides, but in noting all the details of my gardening.  I'd love to see my garden blog expand to note all the details.  I'd love to be able to nourish the soil with a more aggressive composting plan.  For now, I'm working on keeping this blog active with planting dates, and as many details as I can get into it.

I do have concerns as to how accurate my attempts at pesticide free planting can be.  With the cottage garden being so close to our neighbors, I wonder about cross contamination from their pesticide use.  I've planted the peas right along the fence.  The neighbor on the other side makes no bones about her vigorous use of whichever pesticide she may discover.  Can I truely claim an organic garden with a neighbor so close?   While she doesn't spray all the time, how much of her previous efforts still affect my work?  These and other questions may be too difficult for me to answer, but I am undeterred as to my efforts.

Grapes!

My northern vine is already bearing tiny grapes.  I was shocked to see them.  From a few budding leaves, to full leaves to grapes in just a few weeks.  It's not just the one bunch either.  This year promises to be our first real production of fruitful vines.

I expect to plant my third vine tomorrow.  We're on our way to fourteen fruitful vines, here at the vineyard.

Peas: Planted

This year I have decided upon Pisum sativum, or Wando shelling peas for the back fence.  It's an heirloom variety from Botanical Interests.

My second son is delighted, and eager to watch them grow.  The packet provided far more peas than I had expected.  Last year, I had the peas starting at the north corner, then going all along the back fence toward the south.  I expected that this year, I'd plant my grape seeds in the area where last years peas had grown.  I will plant a vine or two, but I have far more peas than I planned.  Partly, I had more pea seeds to plant than I had planned.  More importantly, I had a passionate pea lover in my son.  He, and his younger brother, will be far more interesting in eating the peas off the vine than enjoying the grapes we grow.  But, then, the Vintner and I have different plans for the grapes than giving them to the children anyway.

I'm not sure of the wisdom of planting grapes after two seasons of peas in the years prior in the space where I plant the grapes.  However, since I planted the previous vines with little hope of them surviving, perhaps they will do just fine.  After all, the current vines had no soil preparation.  They were planted on good Faith.  I trust the future vines will thrive on the same faith.

A Late Freeze, An Intuition and a Garden Saved

This year I was partially feeling guilty about waiting so long to start my planting.  Am I lazy?  Why couldn't I bring myself to dig and hoe and plant?  Then, we had freezes well past the date I would have planted.  Thankfully, the vines are undeterred.  Both are sprouting new leaves.  The beets loved the cold.  The chives haven't stopped spreading.  The weeds are just as thick as ever.

The tiny seeds?  This year they needed more time.  Much like my children.  They need more time for their physical development.  They aren't on a typical child's gross motor development.  I've trusted my instinct on what do about their education.  This week I found out what the public school system would have expected of my kindergartner in the name of "safety," and it would be detrimental to their long term progress.  They would have stuck us in an unpleasant situation due to expectations on his bowel disability.  We've done what's right for him at the right time, but their timetable wouldn't have done that.  My gardens needed more time this year: both my green one and my kinder one.

Wondering When I Can Plant

It's right before the last frost of the season, and I have no idea when I can get planting.  I should have the next few weekends for hours of gardening.  However, I have some things to do for the car and errands and without help on the weekends with the boys.  In the last two years, we had help with one boy because he was tube fed during the day.  The Vintner was agreeable to keep an eye on the other boys.  Now, the boys are orally fed during the day and tube fed during the evening.  The Vintner does not help with this, except occasionally turning the pump off after I got to bed, and flushing the line with water.  I have all of two or three hours between the feedings, and during that time I have to prepare the boys meals.  One of the boys is on a special diet.  We cannot afford to purchase his foods as convenience foods, and must make them from scratch.  I don't mind in the least, and enjoy this, as evidenced by the Cottage Vineyard Kitchen.  However, it takes even more time from other tasks, like work in the vineyard - not that either vine needs much these days, or in the garden.  Really, I have only an hour at a time.  Cleanup and meal preparation and feeding on the hospital regimen can take over four hours of the day.  Then there is my other child, who also needs care. Somewhere during this time, I have homeschooling and housework and driving back and forth to therapy and writing.  What is missing? Care for myself.  Gardening used to be part of my psychological care.

I enjoyed taking a break to watch the blossoms on the neighbors' trees.  I don't know when I can get enough time to myself any time soon, although I know I need it.  No one can continue at a busy pace like this for long.  I do feel frustration at asking for help and only getting excuses: from my mother, my friends, the agency for the employees and the Vintner.  I will appreciate the break all the more when it comes.

On Eating Mashed Potatoes

My eldest son has decided that he does eat mashed potatoes, after all.  I'm so relieved, because I was prepared for it to take four weeks, not two.  At last I can settle into our new pattern at home.  The intense feeding regimen that we began at the feeding therapy program prevents me from attending to other things here at the cottage.  I spend about half of my day preparing and feeding them.  Then, we have homeschooling and other child care.  One day, it won't be quite so all consuming, but that assumes we won't see a progression of the boys medical conditions.  If we do, it may be even busier.  I am prepared to have even less time to attend the vines.  Fortunately we chose a vineyard over a dairy farm.

A Spring Rain on Pear Blossoms

As I sit near the window here at the cottage, I can look across the street and see rain gently falling on our neighbors' blossoming pear trees.  It's beautiful.  We don't have the brutal weather of other places in early March.  I can see a few green leaves budding out, but mostly the trees are covered with delicate white flowers.  Every day they change a bit more.  I wonder how many people don't even notice a bit.  I am certain many people do appreciate them.  We live in that kind of place.  Unlike other neighborhoods I know,  we are surrounded by walkers, cyclists, skateboarders and the like.  So many people are always around us. How much better to have trees and gardens and neighbors than to have landscaping and associates - wouldn't you agree?

A few weeks from now, all the trees will be filled with green leaves.  The blossoms will be gone. The grasses will be lush and needing weekly management.  I'll have weeds to pull out by their roots.  The garden will take up so much of my Saturday mornings.  The grape vines will bud again.  For now, we can enjoy the rain before the rain of work begins.