Micro-Minute: Pacing, and Pivoting, in the Early Goings of a Marathon Season

Sunshine, heat, clouds and cold. Speed bumps and mud can't deter or discourage the drive to the finish line.

It’s a true pleasure stepping outside every day to a world that is consistently growing greener. To cruise around with the windows down, tunes up, observing the vivid yellow forsythia blooms bursting on roadsides and corners. Wondering at the majestic magnolia trees with their delicate pastel pink and white oversized flowers drooping, dropping and wafting lightly to the Earth.

The cheerful faces of daffodils abound, tulips and crocus open and astound.

All signs the race has begun, one that starts and ends with the pace of the sun.

Pulling the Weeds

I suppose I’ve been so busy working outside, enamored by the rapid development of the natural world that I’ve neglected duties here in my Substack garden. Allow me to clear the weeds and straighten the place up a bit.

Initially, when I started the newsletter I planned to post twice a week: The Micro-Minute on Monday and Earthen Word Weekly every Friday. That’s still the plan, and thank you for sticking with me.

I realize it’s been two weeks since the last Micro-Minute and here we are late Monday night, getting on early Tuesday morning. But I know my hordes of readers are dying to know what’s been going on in the gardening world of Ron, so I’m here to deliver!

And actually, there is quite a bit to report. So let’s start small and work our way up.

The Micro

Writing isn’t the only area where I’ve been slacking. It’s time to ratchet up my microgreens growing and get them back on a regular schedule. We recently harvested a few trays of mustard and arugula. The two of them mixed together pack a whopping punch. Pungent and spicy, they really crank up the flavor of a standard salad.

This week I’ll get back to regularly turning out the usual cast of pea shoots, radish greens and sunnies.

As I’ve previously reported I was spending a lot of time focusing on wheatgrass and it feels like I got the process down pat. A shot of juice has become part of my morning routine and it seems to do wonders for my energy levels and excitement for starting the day.

All of these trays are second harvests that grew back after an initial cutting. It’s great to maximize the potential of one batch of seeds. One of the trays is still going, which will hopefully bear a third harvest.

One more micro project that I’ve picked back up over the past few weeks is sprouting broccoli and kohlrabi in jars.

If you want a dead simple way to grow super-nutritious sprouts, definitely give this a shot. It requires almost zero time and attention.

Simply start with 3 tablespoons of seed in a quart jar.

Add some water and let them soak overnight.

Drain the water, rinse the seeds and drain all the water again. Rinse, swish and drain the seeds 2-3 times per day. You’ll need something like these strainer top thingies that screw right onto the jar. Tip them upside down to let excess water run off.

Here’s what they look like at the end of day two. You can see little green specks beginning to sprout. The broccoli seeds on the right grow a little faster than the darker colored kohlrabi on the left.

This batch is underway right now, I’ll post the rest of the process next week.

Now, from sprouts, grass and microgreens we can move on up to the macro gardening scene.

The Macro

Unfortunately, the biggest story of the season so far is not good news. I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but better hear it from me rather than slamming into utter disappointment come Summertime.

There will be no peach crop this year.

The variable, fluctuating temperatures throughout the Winter and the final massive snowstorm in March tag-teamed the poor stone fruit trees and obliterated their primed buds.

You can kinda see in this photo how the buds are gray and lifeless. Rub them and they turn to dust and blow away on the wind.

Yet, every misfortune offers a bright side. The trees will get a full year of well deserved rest; and I can hack the heck out of them without fear of diminished fruit production.

Exhibit A:

A lot of big cuts were made, evident by the scattered brush.

Peach trees grow so quickly and oftentimes will stretch out too far. The softwood of the trees can easily break under the burden of heavy fruit. My mission this year is to shape them back into sturdy sound structures.

It’s going to be a lot of work.

And I’m disappointed for the customers at the farmer’s market who will no doubt be upset that they have to miss out on their favorite Summer treat for an entire year. I’ll have to pivot with my products, peaches and nectarines are easily the best selling produce I offer.

This is the “before” picture of the above peach tree:

The left tree is pruned and the right soon got the same treatment.

And another shot of Cal for good measure.

Although the bad news about the crop loss stings, there’s still plenty to be excited for.

To counteract the consequences of the mature peach and nectarines trees in the orchard, it’s high time some new life was introduced!

We started planting two new rows of peach and nectarines. They’re small yet, but will grow fast. Everybody’s excited for some new varieties and the prospect of cycling in a fresh generation of trees into the field.

My seedlings are growing well, even though I think I shocked them by leaving them outside through all this crazy weather. It should be expected when there just isn’t enough indoor space, especially since they’ve been transplanted up into larger pots now. No insurmountable damage anyway, they’ll be tougher and more durable for enduring the early season conditions. Hopefully, they withstand these upcoming chilly nights.

I’ve done a lot of work at my client’s; pruning, planting and spring-clean-upping.

At my Aunt’s yard and garden a lot of progress has been made as well. I tilled up the garden and we raked out all of the weeds. A lot of leaf and brush pickup along with pruning and raking.

And the garden at the orchard still awaits our attention.

Garden Groove

There’s LOTS to get to, and only so much time. And I’ve come to realize, that’s OK.

I won’t accomplish everything I want this year, nothing will be perfect and there will be plenty of mistakes and failures. It’s all part of the long course ahead. It’ll be bumpy at times, rocky, sandy and slippery.

So I won’t sprint.

By now, I know better.

Burn out, bust an ankle, lose focus?

Not gonna do it.

Let’s stick it our for the long haul. Take the smooth stretches with pace and glide into a steady groove. Plan ahead and pay attention to all the signs.

And be sure to enjoy beautiful Spring scenery during this first leg of the race.

Hope you’re all taking it slow out there, savoring the simple things.

Until next week, keep glowing and growing

Peace!