ALopez: Groundwork for New Growth #2

January 11, 2017   Abby Lopez

NURSERY DAY

Today we lay the foundation for a gardening basics as we mix the soil to provide nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. We begin with the simple yet elegant recipe of sun, soil and water fostering the growth of plant life. I had great joy in working with the soil today and working along with my newly acquainted co-cultivators. The rain clouds had recently parted after a rainy night and the sun came out to greet us, which I learned is much needed as most vegetables and fruit trees need 8 hrs of sun a day.

We began with the essentials. By mixing one medium sized pot of perlite,  peat moss, four medium pots of pro-mix mycorrhizae, and six pots of compost of organic matter with water using a gardening hoe tool in a bin, we created a suitable environment to activate the microbial activity and effectively increase retention of water. Given time, the soil was moist enough to transfer to the soil pots. We made sure to pack the soil so that the soil would not crumble when removed from the pot to transfer.

While we transferred the soil onto the pots, we shared our reminiscences about childhood memories of mud pies and we shared our dreams of working with the healing elements of the earth. Me? I let my thoughts sometimes runaway with me lately, from the demands of my work, from the stresses of home and the bills. It’s good to take a break from that and just be…in that moment to understand, to wonder, and to contribute.

Last but not least, our final procedure is to plant the seeds! Here we have a variety of seeds such as fennel, sweet thai basil, purple petra basil, cilantro, dill, and large leaf basil that we planted and to be someday be sold. We added a top layer of soil and covered the seeds. Finally, the seedlings will be placed in the nursery where it will get the right amount of sunlight, offered shade, allowed air circulation and be provided protection from the elements such as pests like the cabbage butterflies and aphids.