Grow Tall, Sugarcane!

And so it begins!! On thursday of last week, I invested a twenty dollar bill and a little bit of shame into purchasing a seed starter kit (one of the aforementioned "for dummies" kind) with packed starter soil. I purchased tomato, basil, eggplant, pepper, and thyme seeds. On Saturday, I began my garden.

Starter soil (not the official name but what I'm calling it) is a thoroughly amusing thing. I popped one pellet of hardened soil (resembled a miniature hockey puck) in each of twenty compartments of my seed starter tray, and poured hot water over each. Like putting Peeps in the microwave, I stood in jaw-dropped amazement as they expanded to a small serving of my very own potting soil. Some were more recalcitrant than others, so I had to coax them along with finger prodding and extra water.

And, for the first time in 2010, I got soil all over my hands and under my finger nails. YES! The joys of playing in dirt, even small, evenly portioned indoor dirt, are unparalleled.

I planted my seeds as directed, each with four chances of survival (4 compartments per seed type). According to the packages, many of them should be showing themselves by mid-April, when the real Darwinian experiment begins.

I'll have to thin them-- cutting away the weaklings and showering all my support on the stronger ones-- which I anticipate will be somewhat difficult, emotionally.

Once late May comes around, I'll be planting my other food friends, including (I hope) some delicious lettuces.

Upon reflecting so far, I've realized a few things. Firstly, that there is a very good chance this project is going to fail. What if I didn't plant the seeds right? What if its too cold where they are now, and they never appear? What if..what if....so many things could go wrong. Secondly, if this whole thing does end up terribly, that's a-ok. I may not be able to feed my guests anything but a few sprigs of basil, but that sounds tasty, right?

In all seriousness, I'm in this for the learning experience. And I hope that next spring/summer, I'll do it again, regardless of how this time goes. Because if I'm going to talk the talk about local food systems, sustainable agriculture, healthy consumption and so on, I better figure out how to walk the walk.

And with that, think good thoughts of bounty and deliciousness for me, look out for forthcoming photos, and keep your eyes peeled for good growing containers (all kinds of funk acceptable), I'll be needing em soon!


p.s. Adele, Right as Rain