Seedlings

Through a Country Window

Seedlings

 March 27, 2015

This kitchen bay window has been my main view from the house during the winter. Through it I have watched birds at the feeding station, and a small squirrel who would enjoy fallen sunflower seed or sit hunched, almost invisible, in the branches of a pine tree.

I watched white mornings of complete snow cover, a landscape of sparkling ice, low fog rolling across the fields, and glorious, vividly-colored sunsets. I have watched groups of deep black crows leap-frogging across the brown stubble of our farm field. I have heard them cawing in the morning, and the low hooting of Great-Horned Owls from the distant trees at night.

 

 

                      

My Bird Feeder List for the Winter of 2014-15:

Red-Bellied Woodpecker            Downy Woodpecker        Hairy Woodpecker

White-Breasted Nuthatch             Mourning Dove

Blue Jay              Grackle               European Starling           Cowbird

Slate-Colored Junco           Goldfinch          House Finch

Tufted Titmouse         Carolina Chickadee              Cardinal        Eastern Towhee

American Tree Sparrow    Song Sparrow    Fox Sparrow

White-Throated Sparrow       White-Crowned Sparrow

Inside, the bay window is full of potted plants standing on the floor, on the window sill, and hanging from above the window.

Some of these readily multiply: Spider Plants,  purple Wandering Jew and, of course, Mother-of-Thousands. Of the latter, the largest one bloomed this winter for the first time in its life, and the look of the flowers surprised me. I suppose I expected more primitive flowers from such an ancient looking plant, but it is in the Stonecrop Family (Crassulaceae).

My tallest plant here is “T. J. Feeg”, a Brown Turkey plant bought from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in September of 2013, a descendent of the fig trees there.

All of these plants will be moved to the screened porch when the weather is consistently warm enough.

On one of my small kitchen window sills are pots of herbs for the winter: Pepper Cress, Sweet Basil and Cilantro, to snip and use in add to foods. I am waiting  for the Cilantro seeds to germinate. There are two pots on the other small window sill, each with a Shallot bulb from last year's garden that started sprouting in storage. I cut some of the narrow leaves now and then to chop into salads, scrambled eggs and stir-fry.

Next to me as I sit before the bay window, other plants are growing, waiting in the wings for their time in the sun, rain and rich soil of our outdoor gardens. A wooden rack made by my husband, Richard, holds numerous trays and pots of the little hopefuls, mostly plants that will enrich our taste buds, bodies and lives this spring and summer.

 

Already the Hilton Chinese Cabbage is screaming to be put in the ground. This is a new variety for me. It is supposed to be smaller than other Chinese Cabbage varieties.

 

The Leeks and Scallions, too, are ready for life in the Big New World. I have grown He-Shi-Ko Bunching Onions (scallions) for many years, starting them by planting several seeds in each tray cell, a trick learned fro an organic gardening book (it has been so long that I don't recall which book). Obviously, it was a trick worth retaining. I love digging up a cluster of these from a raised bed, giving them a rinse, and chopping all the white and green parts into stir-fry.

Richard grows most of the hot weather crops, as I have much trouble with the heat and he, a veteran of working Knox County melon fields, has very little. His trays are sprouting tomato, eggplant and pepper plants now.

It seems hard to believe, looking at those tiny things, that they will become thick-stemmed, lush-leaved, tall plants with full-fleshed fruits. They will be filling canning jars, freezer bags, dehydrator trays and fermenting vessels, and will also be filling us with health-giving vitamins and lycopenes.

It is time to put out the earliest plants and seeds, while the moon is waxing - Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts – and to plant out seeds of Spinach, Peas, Kale, Swiss Chard and other greens. In early April, when the moon is waning, I will plant seeds outdoors for beets, radishes and carrots, and I will put out the Leek and Scallion plants.

But, for awhile the plants will linger under the glow of shop lights. I will linger in front of the bay window, in my rocking chair, watching birds, fog and sunsets, and watching the landscape turn toward Spring.