Windowbox gardening 101

Another Avery’s seed packet that caught my eye was one offering mixed wildflower seeds. The picture jogged a memory: my illfated 2002 project to reduce lawnmowing and give half my veggie plot a rest.

It might have been the unseasonably warmish weather, or my regular visits to Cedarstone's “Garden Road” to see my spouse; but all of a sudden I was in a gardening mood. Most likely it was the sight, when I went to Avery's farm market on Willow Street to buy bread and milk, of a tall shelf crammed with colorful packets from Halifax Seed, Vesey's, and others.

Of course it's way too early to actually dig and plant outdoors — the subsoil is still hard-frozen —but it's not too soon, as columnist Ms. Jabbour has reminded us, to start early plants indoors for later transplanting.

Peas, for example. Years ago, around this time of year, I used to grow batches of them indoors, not for transplanting but to provide fresh, scissor-harvested greens to put in sandwiches, soup, salads and such.

For this I used a home-made indoor window box filled with bought topsoil. I'd sow the peas a few inches apart, water them lightly and place the boxes near the woodstove for warmth. To keep them moist, I'd cover the soil with damp newsprint under plastic until they germinated a week or so later. Then, uncovered and placed on a southfacing windowsill, they'd keep us in delicious greens—top leaves only—until the regular garden lettuce, spinach and kale were harvestable.

Another Avery's seed packet that caught my eye was one offering mixed wildflower seeds. The picture jogged a memory: my ill-fated 2002 project to reduce lawn-mowing and give half my veggie plot a rest. It involved tilling a sizable patch of lawn and growing potatoes there instead. Which worked fine that year; but spud crops need to be rotated. What to plant next?

I opted for wildflowers. After all, that's what grew there when we bought the place in 1969: hawkweed, yarrow, dandelions, ragweed, eyebright, buttercups, timothy, you name it. You can't buy those at Avery's or anywhere. What was the next best choice? The seed packet didn't list them; all it said was “Eastern Canadian Mix: 24-36 inches”, annuals, perennials and biennials.”

But the picture showed pansies, poppies, zinnia, irises, marigold, and a rose; plus two of the originals, namely daisy and buttercup. So I went with that.

The other idea I got from that Avery's seed rack was something called “Cat Grass”. Cat grass?!? Though we'd housed various cats over the years, this was news to me. After all, house cats are carnivores (meat-eaters), right? But evidently, as an occasional treat or dietary supplement or whatever, they will eat grass. Come to think of it, I've once or twice seen our current feline Miracle nosing grass blades; but figured she was after a fly or something.

And so today, checking the under-stove carton I'd sown to cat grass only days ago, I found the wheat-like seeds already sprouted and matchstick-tall, pale from their newsprint overlay but rarin' to go.

Next step? Wait till they green up and see what she does...i'll let you know.