SPROUTING SEEDS

                                                                              by  

                                                                      Frank La Rosa

                                     April is the cruelest breeding month, breeding

                                     Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

                                     Mixing memory and desire, stirring

                                     Dull roots with spring rain

                    The Waste Land  Part one  "The Burial of the Dead"     T. S, Eliot

   "April is the cruelest Month"  T. S. Eliot tells us. Yes, from my experience and that of  many others it appears a universal truth both poetically and in practical reality. April grants us a little apercu of warming, of the grace of spring. But, it tricks us in to thinking  that the warmth is going to occur  constantly. Then it sends us  little chills reminding us of the past winter's grim cold and reminds us that we do not control Nature. For me, the poetry speaks Truth. April, is not necessarily cruel, it simply shows us how Nature can be, is: of how itself is--both triumphantly positive and yet a chilling remainder that life has its tragic element--death. And that is cruel!

   Seeds are the quintessential symbol, like April, of growth and the possibility of demise, or, in more practical down to earth terms, damp off. As gardeners we all know this. They are easy enough to germinate, yet for some seeds it is a task to keep them alive and growing. They are precisely like newborn children who require work, care, and of course, Love. For we gardeners, this means that seeds require attention daily attention and responsibility as we look after them every morning on that sunny windowsill. It's like a mother who wakes up in the middle of the night to check on her child--to my way of thinking. This is why I am very careful with the amounts of water I give to seedlings--too much and they damp off and die. Keep the seed bed medium damp but not wet. This in itself is perceptive art learned through experience. And water only in the morning, allowing the new seeds leaves to dry off before night comes on with dreaded fungi. Human touch and experience are the best of moisture meters!

   Sprouted seeds need a moderate woozy kind of light--nothing too bright or desert-like hot or they will parch. Growing them on an eastern windowsill has always been for me the best place. With most seeds that is. There, they receive the ascending morning light. Ascendency is energetic. It is the burgeoning energy of morning minus the zenith of that "red rock' sun at noon. A light misting of the new leaves is a laving that lets them know they are in caring hands. Use a sprayer bottle to do this.

   After the seedlings have at least two or more true leaves it is time to harden them off. They must be acclimated to the site where you want them to spend their lives.  If you have germinated  tomatoes, lettuce, or other vegetable, for example, place the seedling in a protected place outdoors, first for a few hours and then for a few days to get them used to overnight temperatures.

   For further protection, I build quarter inch mesh boxes to cover these outdoor, hardening-off seedlings. I have had these succulent creatures decimated by birds and wretched rats and mice. Remember Eliot, April and its cruelty? It is a sad thing to come out in the morning and see ones plant creatures wasted,

   Finally, after the seedlings are strong-- 2 to 3" tall or more, pick them out with a sharp stick and gently plant them in situ. Again, they might need protection such as wire mesh covers or cloches of some kind. Very light organic fertilizer is appropriate now. No harsh MiracleGro or chemical nutrition. I have found that chemical fertilizers zap the young seedlings with a fertilizer that should be used much later in their life cycle--to bring on blossoming and fruiting. At this youthfulness they only need gentleness and the intentionality of love. 

   Look them over every morning, and start placing 5 to 6' poles near the plant bases (hammer them in hard) so that as they grow taller, tie them up, (use twine or torn stripes of cotton rag) to guide them on their life's journey to growth, flowering and fruition.

   A short comment is in order now. I know I have emphasized vegetable seedlings here, but actually these  comments can apply to the germination of almost any seeds, the emphasis being on the careful, attentive caring part.

   To be even more complete, save a few seeds in the refrigerator and plant them next season so that your plants will live again into burgeoning new  life. Goethe and Rudolph Steiner  ( of Anthroposophy) see flowering and fruition as the high point that culminated in the plant's death and resurrection or transcendence. In fact, plants often flower profusely just before they are about to die. Have you ever noticed that? The plant has spent everything that it has to generate  new flowers and seed. I think Eliot meant this when he said April evokes "memory and desire"  in "The Waste Land". And I carry in me that Emily Dickenson meant the exact same thing when she said "every flower a resurrection". She loved plants so much. Her pressed plant collection is in the Houghton Library of Harvard.

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