Planting Pacifies Pandemic Panic

The cognitive disconnect is extreme. Beautiful March sunshine, flowers in bloom, the bees, buzzing in anticipation of a new season. Shuttered businesses, empty grocery shelves, shelter-in-place orders and lock-downs around the country, all in preparation for the onslaught of an invisible enemy. A liar in chief tries to turn a catastrophe to his personal advantage. News coverage is non-stop, the internet blaring at us the certainty of the uncertainty ahead.  I’m not a guns and ammo guy, so I went to the store and found some vegetable starts.

Planting Pause…  The warm early spring weather means the garden will accept the tiller without turning the soil into mud clods.  On goes manure that I hauled in last fall.  Choose where to begin and turn overwintered weeds into a rich seed bed.   Erect the piece of fencing that is the pea trellis.  Often I plant peas in March and they rot in the ground and sprout poorly – but I refuse not to try.  This year I picked up a couple of six packs of pea starts as well.  Something will work.

I’m pleased to find that our local hardware store has quite a selection of starts from a local organic producer.  Besides the peas I pick up spinach, golden beets, broccoli, kale and leeks.  All these go in the ground.  While we are at it, might as well put in some seeds for lettuce, carrots, beets, and parsnips.  If we are in for a pandemic, potatoes are a good plan.  They go in the east garden next to a new row of leeks.

Last year’s garden still provides pandemic dining.  I pulled plenty of parsnips to make room for the potatoes.  The last of the overwintered leeks are delicious in soups and sautées.  Old broccoli, Brussels sprouts and kale that sat in the garden over the winter are now sprouting rabe that has been our pandemic staple.  Greens come in the form of self seeded arugula and mâche, swiss chard and kale.  The fresh tops of fava beans provide snacks as I work the dirt.

The garlic planted last October got the weeds pulled and its spring dressing of manure.

I’m ready now for April showers and to take a few moments to plan the next moves.  Meanwhile…

Pandemic Proceeds… COVID cases are doubling every three days, deaths in the thousands are doubling even faster.  We are still in the early days of the unfolding  pandemonium.

Petulant politicians parrot political propaganda projecting paranoia, promising panacea, pretending patriotism.  Patiently, progressives protect people, practice persistence, plan prosperity. Pandemic pandemonium proceeds.  Peas pop.