April 1. -- This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four. -- Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar (from Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson, 1894)
A hailstorm last week in the middle of the night caused not a little concern for some gardeners in northwest Florida. Some fool planted peas to grow up on the hedge. She was too lazy to rig up a proper support system for them. The broken stems and tendrils do not bode well for a harvest anytime soon.
Peter Piper might be able to pick a peck of peppers here and elsewhere in the garden--if he can sneak in ahead of the fool who planted them. The leaves were shredded a bit by the hail, but the fruit wasn't damaged. Daughter picked the largest one today to add to her specialty, chicken enchiladas. I can smell them baking in the oven right now. Mmmm.
Live oak trees are clothed with a fresh growth of leaves. You never see them absolutely bare. Last year's leaves fall off at the same time this year's growth takes over. They are pushed out of the nest, so to speak, by the next generation. Most fools tend to go out on a limb, and I'm no exception. TC, the Write Gardener, has encouraged (challenged?) his friends and fellow-bloggers to try their hands at poetry. Here goes:
Not-So-Foolish Advice
April shakes her soggy head,
Storms and hail recede;
(Kisses of sun-warmth)
Gardener decides to cast her bread
On waters--not soil--no seed.
Drink it in, this day. Be fed.
Son's efforts at gardening may just surpass those of his parents one of these days. I hope so. He might even learn from a fool's mistakes if he pays close attention. Okay, I'm not really a fool--at least not most of the time. I'm (re)learning what's good and what's not, and I'm not afraid to share it.
A lesson learned is an experience not wasted. However on the planting too early lesson it my forgetfullness that seems each spring to cause all the trouble. :)
ReplyDeletetroutbrider's so right! Gardener's constantly learn and unlearn. You're a fine gardener. Your plants and sprouts prove it!
ReplyDeleteI doubt a support system would've completely protected your peas from hail. We let ours kind of fall over too, but by the time they're drooping, we've eaten most of the peas anyway. Still a tad early to plant here, but I suppose some folks do the row cover and protect their cool season stuff, I'm too lazy to fool with that.
ReplyDeleteY'all have peppers? It's hard to tell from lookin at the photo if any are on there. But you must have them already because you said your daughter picked one. **Sighs**
Loved your poem. The last line especially.
I'm so glad you're not afraid to go out on a limb. I've been known to climb a little higher than I should at times. (Thanks for linking.)
Great poem, April Fool Girl!!! Loved your post...we had a tornado hit near here yesterday too, and caused a lot of downed leaves, branches and powerlines too...lights out for quite a few for a while!
ReplyDeleteLoved your husbands post...tell him I keep a little book of geology by my bed and try and read a little each night before I fall asleep...a slow absorption of facts! ROCKS RULE!!!
Those peas will recover, don't you worry. Darned ole hailstorms!
ReplyDeleteI am brand new to the idea of planting so I was happy to see some of the grass seed that I planted was coming up and it exceeded my low expectations..lol..Loved the video clip. What is better than splashing around in the water..We get too up tight to do it when we get older...I hope your weather holds. We won't be planting until May....Michelle
ReplyDeleteWell, about half the time you get away with planting too early. Those times you come out ahead;)
ReplyDeleteWe had hail here Tuesday but since nothing is growing yet it did no damage. Things always recover;)
Marnie
You are so right, Troutbirder. As we get older, some of those lessons we learned tend to get lost in the accumulation of life's layers. It takes a little sloughing now and then to remind us.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chandramouli. Gardening for me is mostly trial and error--okay mostly error--and I never get tired of the challenge or the rewards.
TC, you're right. Hailstones are just one of those flukes of nature that you can't really prepare for. It still wasn't a good idea, though, to plant the peas against the hedge. It's going to be a challenge to find those pods if they ever appear! I did plant a second crop that's freestanding, and I'll treat it more traditionally. Did you not click on the pic of the pepper plant? You would have seen the fruit. I loved your poem too. And you're welcome for the link, friend.
Thanks, Julie. The storms ain't over yet. We're getting another round today. I hope there are none of those "stones" associated with it. I like the ones on the shelf much better. Good luck on learning geology. Most of it is too deep for me.
Tina, thanks for the encouragement. If the first batch doesn't produce, maybe the second one will.
Michelle, container gardening is a good option if you don't have much yard space. Last year when we were living in an apartment, I was able to grow some fresh herbs along with some flowers. I tried tomatoes but should have used some sort of self-watering method because they croaked when we left for a few days. I wish I had brought extra clothes the day we visited son's place and captured Micah splashing in the puddles. I would have joined him!
I never knew it hailed in Florida! Thanks for visiting the commonweeder. Worms Eat my Garbage by Mary Appelhof is the worm farming bible, but remember it isn't hard. Precision is not necessary. Come back and see how the worms are doing, and how the worm casting affect the garden.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wonder how much it is possible to learn about gardenining, lol -- so much of it is out of our hands. I *do* think there's an endless amount to learn, but then conditions keep changing on us..
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, when reading through Elizabeth Lawrence's books, I got the distinct impression that the more she saw, the less sure she was of what she knew. (Did that make any sense?) :)
Marnie, after we got home from babysitting Micah this afternoon, SAM went outside in between rains and checked on the garden. The peas are beginning to bloom! Maybe all's not lost.
ReplyDeleteCommonweeder, thanks for stopping by here and leaving a comment. Yes, we get just about everything here in the Panhandle that Mother Nature can dish out except heavy snowfall. I figured worm farming was not too difficult, at least not on a small scale. I'm having trouble finding locally the quantity necessary to make a proper start. Usually a pound of worms, preferably red wigglers (according to several sources), is appropriate for a beginning "farmer." When I called the local extension office to make inquiries as to worm wholesalers in the area, my questions were met with at first a long silence and then a lot of hemming and hawing (snickering?). He suggested I go to a bait shop. Not a good answer because it would take about 20 containers to equal a lb. of worms. Expensive to go that route! So now I will probably have to seek an online source. I will check back on your site. I've added it to my blog list.
Sweet Bay, it makes perfect sense. Isn't gardening a microcosm of life and learning? You never get it just right. For some reason, I don't think we're supposed to.
I'm a fool, too, W2W, when it comes to gardening (and probably other areas). But the best part of gardening is that those foolish mistakes usually become lessons learned and can easily be corrected the next year. Nobody can prepare for hail, though.
ReplyDeleteGreat poem! I'm still in Arizona where April has anything but a "soggy head."
Now I see the pepper W2W, not sure why I didn't click the photo before, I always click to enlarge yours.
ReplyDeleteRose, I don't mind playing the "fool" to help someone learn a valuable lesson or grow stronger in the things that count. Thank goodness there's gardening to remind us that we get more chances.
ReplyDeleteTC, don't you just love to start out looking at something from a broad perspective and then discover there are worlds residing in worlds within that perspective? It assembles order from the chaos.
ouch for the broken stems on young plants. fools are some of the best folk to hang out with... especially when they can see themselves as being foolish at times.
ReplyDeleteand who out there can beat the weather anyway???
Mr. Stratz, I'd sooner trust a
ReplyDeletefool's honest mistakes than the rants of an undermining cynic. Send in the clowns, please!