Happy Earth Day & Sundays with William Blake

Happy Earth Day!

Because of family parties, I actually had to garden yesterday rather than today.

The spiral of a sunflower follows a very specific pattern known as the Golden Ratio, which is the limit of the ratio of the Fibonacci numbers as you approach infinity.  Not everything that people claim follows the Golden Ratio actually does - nautilus shells, for example, do not.  But sunflowers really do.  To see how the sunflower's pattern relates to the Golden Ratio, check out this tool called "Turn, then Grow."

Earth Day Reminder - April 22nd

Just a reminder to all Earth Day fans, Earth Day is April 22nd this year.

Why the early reminder?  Because a big part of Earth Day is planting seeds and little gardens, and to get your herbs and veggies in the ground on time it would be a good idea to start them now.

This year I'm going to be spending the summer up in Alaska, so I picked herbs and plants that should do well in my absence.  I chose thyme, chamomile (got those as a gift of seeds), lavender, marjoram, rosemary, as well as some perennial flowers such as painted daisies.

These plants in my neck of the woods - Chicago - do very well with very little care.  All they need is a little water.

I'm using a Jiffy miniature greenhouse to sprout some.  I started last week, and they're already doing beautifully.  I also am trying a miniature greenhouse with peat pellets, which I've never tried before.  I'm excited to see if it works.

Remember, you don't need to throw away your miniature greenhouse when you're done.  You can actually use it to start sprouting other veggies, particularly those that grow in cycles or are eaten as sprouts.  Mesclun salad mixes sprout beautifully in miniature greenhouses which just have a little layer of dirt at the bottom, and should be ready to eat in less than five weeks.

Happy growing!  Pictures (hopefully) coming soon!