On Saturday, Spring arrives. The Vernal Equinox announces her return with the smell of dirt, small bursts of floral color, and the soggy squish of rainsoaked ground.
Who’s ready to rejoice?
I feel lucky as I watch the warm rain fall outside and think of my friends in Colorado! But even if you are languishing in the wild cold of ongoing winter, you can still plant some seeds. Gather your favorite planting implements: a bag of potting soil, something to plant your seeds in, a spoon or other digging tool, and a packet of seeds.
Here at the Bourgeois-Reineke abode, we use all sorts of recycled containers to plant our seeds, but I saw a most ingenious one on Gardener’s World last week in an episode from 2020. Use the tube at the center of your toilet paper roll! Cut four slits about an inch long, equidistant around one end of the tube. Fold them toward each other to make the bottom of your little planting pot. Fill with dirt and voilà! Plant your seeds and then, when it comes time to put them out into the dirt or into another pot, just plop the whole thing into the ground. So ingenious!
Fill your chosen container with dirt and plant your seeds according to the instructions on the packet. Sprinkle them with water and recite this little promise.
Grow little seed
I will nourish you with water
I will coddle you with sunshine
I will keep you safe as you grow strong
Burst from that protective hull
Begin your journey
Unfurl those first little leaves
Proclaim your life
Reach out with your precious roots
Form your foundation
Stretch your stem into the world
Make your own path
Unleash the bounty of your flowers, fruits, vegetables
Embrace your transformation
Rejoice
Life begins
