Happy Spring!

Vernal Equinox, 20 March 2009 07:43 (EDT)

Today marks the "official" beginning of the spring season.

Now is a time of balance, of equal light and dark,
when all the elements of the earth and within us
ask to be brought to peaceful harmony.

Spring Equinox is one of our favorite times of the year --
days are longer than nights, it's getting warmer,
the trees are budding and the air has that expectant
stillness before the full bursting forth of summer.

Now is the time to plant the seeds that will grow and
bloom into our hopes and dreams. Let us be fearless --
and wise! The world will reap what we sow. And
remember the Native Americans, who consider the
effects of their actions for seven generations to come.

Despite the above quote and popular belief, the equinox is not necessarily the day of equal light and dark. That day generally happens slightly before the spring equinox (or after the fall equinox), the exact date depending on your location on Earth.
Technically the vernal equinox occurs when the center of the sun crosses the Equator, rising due east and setting due west. It really means the "center" of the sun. Sunrise is defined as the moment the very top edge of the sun appears to peek over the horizon. Sunset is when the very last bit of the sun disappears below the horizon. Those astronomers get pretty precise about these things.

But for millennia humans have given much more significance to this day. It is celebrated as Alban Eilir, Eostar, Eostre, Feast of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Festival of Trees, Lady Day, NawRuz, No Ruz, Ostara, Ostra, or the Rites of Spring among others.
While Winter solstice truly marks the beginning of the return of longer days, Spring Equinox embodies the return of light and warmth and renewed life, giving rise to traditions of life, resurrection, fertility, and feasting in many cultures.

We celebrate this time of renewal here with work on our garden-to-be. With snow forecast for the weekend we are not doing much outside, but there are seeds to start and young seedlings to tend. We do cultivate in a greenhouse to extend our season here and this weekend will be sifting dirt and compost and planting greens and cool hardy crops in large tubs.

For anyone, the easiest, most cost effective vegetables to grow to extend your food budget are greens. From lettuce to Swiss Chard, all grow happily in containers. They are very quick to mature and you can have fresh, organic vegetables and salad year-round with little effort. We grow ours in reused large storage tubs we scrounged. Drilled a few holes in the bottom and Voila! Free 18 gallon planters. I generally grow lettuce in succession for a constant supply. I start new seed within a week of transplanting out my starts. $3.00 worth of lettuce seed will keep you in salad most, if not all, year. Add to that radishes, other types of greens, beets, carrots and such and you can grow a large amount of vegetables in containers, easily, for a very small amount of money.

We mix our own potting soil with about 1/3 of our clay-ey soil, 1/3 compost and 1/3 mixed chicken or steer manure and bought potting soil. Often the latter is actually really old potting soil I have reclaimed from other planters. We never throw any out as it is a nice amendment to loosen up our clay soil here.
The nice thing about all these vegetables is that they are also beautiful. Even if you only have a couple of planters of lettuce, with maybe a dwarf marigold in them, they can double as landscaping. So start your own salad bar as a way to celebrate the spring season, and remember to garden organically. It's easy.