{"id":931,"date":"2010-04-21T12:38:59","date_gmt":"2010-04-21T19:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/?p=931"},"modified":"2010-10-20T03:53:39","modified_gmt":"2010-10-20T10:53:39","slug":"the-perfect-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/?p=931","title":{"rendered":"The Perfect Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ready to go in the garden!<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s second quarter moon in Cancer.<\/p>\n

And almost April 22nd.<\/p>\n

Plus, a gentle rain in the forecast.<\/p>\n

To top it off,\u00a0 the kids are home from school on an early release day.<\/p>\n

You know what that means.<\/p>\n

You do, don’t you?<\/p>\n

Ready, set…if you’ve got it, plant it!<\/p>\n

That’s right.\u00a0 For those of us using the lunar calendar as a guide, the 2nd quarter of the moon in Cancer is perfect for transplanting crops that produce their yield above the ground.\u00a0 All those tomatoes and cucumbers and squash and eggplant and peppers and whatever else is hardening off on your deck can finally go in the ground (strike up Handel’s Hallelujah chorus).\u00a0 Unless, like me, everything except for the tomatoes and cucumbers died already.\u00a0 Then plant your tomatoes and cucumbers with pride and sneak off to the farmer’s market for replacement veggies.\u00a0 Hey, some farmer grew them.\u00a0 It just wasn’t you.\u00a0 Or me.<\/p>\n

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The tomato transplants are starting to flop over and form roots on the stems.<\/p><\/div>\n

If moon phases are all Geek to you (Yes, Geek.\u00a0 I imagine you think I am geeky for knowing this stuff rather than Greeky), then what do<\/span> you do with winter time other than plan garden strategies? By the time the last frost date rolls around, I’ve had time to read up on the French intensive method, a three sisters garden,\u00a0 Ruth Stout permanent mulch, and outdoor hydroponics.\u00a0 After all, the chickens aren’t laying, the goats are dried up, the winter garden manages itself under row covers, and the animal bedding is left as deep litter in the barn.\u00a0 If things on the farm got any slower, I’d have to start doing housecleaning.\u00a0 Gag.<\/p>\n

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By the time it gets too hot for these carrots, they will be shaded by the tomato plants.<\/p><\/div>\n

So, a couple years ago, during the winter doldrums, I stumbled upon the relevance of moon phases and signs for gardening.\u00a0 By “stumbled upon” I mean I discovered a book at the library.\u00a0 I do not mean “stumbled upon” as in that freaky browser on the computer that takes you to websites of interest.\u00a0 If you’re interested in people with full body tattoos or hirsutism solutions (Why would you choose those sites for me, Stumble Upon?\u00a0 Why??).\u00a0 In my excitement I rushed over to a neighboring farm and, waving the book around, asked the farmer if she had ever heard of this idea.<\/p>\n

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Last year's seed potatoes have sprouted!<\/p><\/div>\n

She looked up from pulling grass, which she calls winter cress for some reason, and gave the book a serious once-over.\u00a0 “No,” she said solemnly, “I can’t say I’ve heard much of that modern science gardening.”\u00a0 Then she bust out laughing and added, “What?\u00a0 You young people think you invented everything?\u00a0 You gonna ask me if’n I ever heard of canning bread and butter pickles, too?\u00a0 Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.”\u00a0 Don’t ever tell any farmer over 60 years old about your new<\/em> ideas.\u00a0 They’ve already heard it.\u00a0 Really.<\/p>\n

Ever since then I’ve been trying to coordinate my planting days with the proper moon phase.\u00a0 Call me crazy but if it worked for people 100 years ago, I bet it can work for me, too.\u00a0 Besides, is the lunar calendar any stranger than those upside down tomato planters?\u00a0 What is up (or down) with that?<\/p>\n

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The last batch of spring cabbage is finishing up to make room for summer crops.<\/p><\/div>\n

Of course, most gardening tactics work best in combination with other factors.\u00a0 Hence, the added importance of April 22nd. \u00a0 The last frost date for our area is generally considered to be tax day.\u00a0 But to be on the safe side, many gardeners use April 22nd.\u00a0 Being on the safe side means not having to run down to the garden at night with sheets to protect summer crops from frost.\u00a0 Oh, and running back down in the morning to remove the sheets so the plants don’t overheat.\u00a0 Did I mention all this running around is usually done in pajamas?<\/p>\n

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The cold winter never killed the feverfew or sage. Go figure!<\/p><\/div>\n

I always think I’ll have time to cover the plants right after dinner, but then someone has to help the kids with their homework and someone has to scrub the enchilada pot before the spilled cheese hardens into concrete and someone has to feed the dogs before they help themselves to the trash can and someone has to switch the laundry from the washer to the dryer so there will be clean underwear in the morning.\u00a0 Turns out my middle name is Someone (What?\u00a0 You, too!\u00a0 We should form a club or something….).\u00a0 So someone doesn’t remember until she awakens with flashes of frost burned plants in her dreams that the garden needs to be covered.\u00a0 And someone creeps stealthily down in pajamas to cover the precious tomatoes.\u00a0 Which makes the neighbor’s dog come running out, barking.\u00a0 Which sets off their motion sensor porch light.\u00a0 Which leaves me standing in the spotlight, carrying a bedsheet, and wearing my nightgown with the unraveled hem, two top buttons missing from the breastfeeding years, and a slit up the side that was only sexy back when, well, let’s just say, back when I didn’t know anything about breastfeeding.\u00a0 Which is why my neighbors discuss what the hell is wrong with me when they get together for potlucks.\u00a0 Which is why it’s better to wait for April 22nd.<\/p>\n

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Hurry up, peas, we can't wait to eat you!<\/p><\/div>\n

As if the combination of a 2nd quarter moon in Cancer occurring next to April 22nd isn’t enough, we’re expecting a gentle rain in the morning.\u00a0 The soft kind of rain that will dampen the soil enough to keep the transplants comfortable without making a gardener work in clumps of mud.\u00a0 Might even spare us the need to lightly moisten the soil after putting in the corn seeds.\u00a0 So we might also be spared the hassle of collecting the seeds and replanting them after Middle “lightly” washes them out of the ground by putting the hose on jet mode.\u00a0 He knows jet mode is too strong for watering seeds.\u00a0 He just can’t resist.\u00a0 I mean, it’s jet mode for Pete’s sake!\u00a0 And he is, after all, Middle.\u00a0 “You knew who I was when you handed me the hose, ” he\u00a0 says with a shrug, standing amid the washed out seeds.\u00a0 Which goes to show you that you can<\/em> read too many books to your kids.\u00a0 If they’re using the folktale of the biting rattlesnake to defend their actions, it’s time to go back to reading The Adventures of Captain Underpants.\u00a0 There’s nothing in there they can use to outsmart you.\u00a0 Trust me.<\/p>\n

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Blackberries are blooming!<\/p><\/div>\n

But the kids being in the garden is what makes all these conditions the perfect storm for a summer garden.\u00a0 Because there isn’t much point to a garden if there isn’t a child exclaiming in delight to discover potatoes pushing up through last year’s mulch.\u00a0 Or examining the buds on the tomato stalks that will so easily form roots when it’s buried in the ground.\u00a0 Cucumbers and peas taste best when little fingers have lovingly placed their tendrils on the trellis.\u00a0 And little mouths will gobble up eggplant and zucchini when they were in charge of tucking their plants into the soft, damp soil.\u00a0 Besides, Big can manage a full wheelbarrow and Pretty is finally tall enough for a full sized hoe.\u00a0 I may spend more time supervising than planting this year.\u00a0 That’s a promotion I’ve been waiting for!\u00a0 So, send on the school buses.\u00a0 Let the children come home early.\u00a0 I’ll be waiting in the garden.\u00a0 Where will you be?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s second quarter moon in Cancer. And almost April 22nd. Plus, a gentle rain in the forecast. To top it off,\u00a0 the kids are home from school on an early release day. You know what that means. You do, don’t you? Ready, set…if you’ve got it, plant it! That’s right.\u00a0 For those of us using […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[87,49,86],"class_list":["post-931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-frost","tag-lunar-calendar","tag-transplants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=931"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1043,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931\/revisions\/1043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}