Sowing and Harvesting

One thing that people are mistaken about is the time you need to harvest. Sowing is done easily and quickly. You take a hand of seeds, throw them on the ground, possibly rake in a little and you're done. Nature itself knows how to make a plant out of it. I think that's a great miracle. Look at such a seed. Tiny and yet all the information is in there. Information to germinate, produce roots, leaves and fruit. How to absorb energy from the sun and how to remove food from the soil. Information on how to communicate with soil life and other plants. Information on how to flower and produce seeds. As a gardener, you don't have to worry about that. It's like making a child. Do you know how to assemble a child? Not me. And yet, my body has done that. Twice, in fact, my body has assembled a particularly beautiful specimen of human beings. Harvesting. that takes time and effort. Every leaf of lettuce, every leaf of spinach, each bean is picked by hand. A year or two ago I had sown a lot of beans and to harvest them I spent three hours, on my knees in the roaring hot sun. And what about harvesting large tubers? Do you know what that is hard work!? A large celeriac, which you put out of the crate at the supermarket, in your basket, harvesting such a celeriac is a very tough job. When you garden on sandy soil, it will be a little easier, but we garden on clay soil. With a four-tooth spit fork, you stand on all sides around the tuber, sticking the fork deep into the ground. In addition, you need your entire weight. Then gently pry loose all around. Shake off the excess clay from the tuber. That also sounds simpler than it is in real life But, in the end, you will have your own organic celeriac and a lot of satisfaction.

Gardening is actually outdoor play for big people, but rrrr. gardening is not just gardening. You have that beautiful harvest in your basket and you proudly take it home. but then? Then there is also something to do with it. Do we eat it today or any other day? Is it enough for our family or is it too much? It is an advantage if you also like to cook. The great thing is that the harvest determines what comes to the table. That saves the daily “what shall we eat again” question.

What is too much certainly does not go into the garbage bin. Too much time and effort has been put into throwing something away carelessly. Herbs are dried and go into their own jar per species, leftovers of onion, garlic, carrot are also dried and go into a collection jar. There are also herbs (thyme, rosemary, parsley, celery, sage, oregano, dill and so on). Then the whole trade is ground and we have a pot of dried vegetable stock, herbs. This can be used in soups, sauces and stews. Most vegetables can be kept in the fridge for a while until more of them are harvested and it is enough for a complete meal again. Some vegetables can be kept well in a vase for days. Think of celery, chard, Tayer leaf and leaf herbs. In the end, there is always too much harvest to eat immediately. So we're going to conserve. This can be preparing and freezing or freezing raw, preserving or drying. Incidentally, we also give away a lot. The nice thing about it is that you can do others a favor. What you will notice is that “giving away” comes back to you in a different way. Because division is multiplication. Others sometimes have an abundance of something and then give it to you. It may also be that we get seeds from a species that we did not have yet. It is a barter without “crossing right away” and no obligation to return anything.