Spring planting

Om Amriteshwaryai Namaha

Welcome to our first of the new Amma UK GreenFriends Blog.

We hope and pray that you are all well. It goes without saying that this has been a difficult time for many of us. Our prayers are with those dealing with loss due to the virus. Like many others we have had some anxieties, which haven’t completely gone, but we are trying to focus more on positive things. We are so so lucky with the explosion of resources online on Zoom, YouTube, and other sources from Amritapuri, the MA Centre and other places.

Some of you may remember that we, Richard and Kaivalya, used to write an allotment diary for the E-news a few years ago. We still have the same allotment and are hoping to write about some of our work there for this Blog, as well as other topics. There are many ways we can all help the environment, our current situation has not changed that. We hope to inspire you with the things we are trying, and we hope to be inspired too, as none of us need to ever stop learning.

Amma has been requesting for a number of years that we all grow at least some of our own food. This is Amma’s InDeed pledge Number 4 from a few years ago.

Amma has said “Even if we only have a tiny plot of land, we should try to grow a few vegetables using organic fertilisers. Spending some time with our plants, we should talk to them, kiss them and sing to them. This relationship will give us a new vitality.” (From 108 Quotes on Nature by Amma).

We have our allotment, and allotments are still accessible, visiting them is being counted as part of your outdoor exercise. Of course, you can utilise whatever other kind of space you may have for growing, be it a garden or a few pots, indoors or outdoors.

This is the time when we seed up our greenhouse plants. We grow several varieties of tomatoes, several varieties of sweet peppers, chillies and cucumbers. The above picture shows where our babies live at the moment, in our bedroom window, they were planted on 17th March. We have 3 trays here, the middle one is heated. That’s where we put the peppers that seem a bit more delicate.

And here are our babies, firstly peppers in the middle tray.

on the left-hand side tray, tomatoes.

and on the right-hand tray cucumbers, well gherkins to be exact. There are also chillies in this tray but they have not germinated yet.

Ah, also these shouldn’t be here, tomatoes growing where we sowed peppers, they must have been in the compost!

They can become long and spindly, so we will be adding extra compost to help keep them from flopping over as they grow.

They are in pots as you see with compost made from broken down leaves, collected in October 2018 outside the allotment gate, where there is an avenue of beautiful lime trees. They have been sitting in a big bag since then and the worms have done their work very well, thank you very much.

If you are buying potting compost, please ensure that it is peat free. Home composts will no longer be allowed to contain peat after this year anyway. This is for 2 reasons, firstly because the harvesting of peats from peat bogs is a very environmentally destructive activity. The very rich and biodiverse habitat of peat bogs is decimated, as the surface peat is literally hoovered up by huge machines. Secondly, peat bogs are a major carbon sink, and so can help to reduce the effects of climate change.

A bit of time on the internet will help you source good alternatives. Coir from coconuts is one that is mentioned. We have used this in the past, and it seemed to yield good results.

The trays are all covered to create a mini greenhouse. Some have come with a hard cover.

And you can also make your own, as we have done here with clear plastic and sticks to give the same effect. This second one is a bit trial and error, but you get there in the end!

As you can see we have plenty of protection underneath with newspaper!

We put in about 6 or 7 cm of compost, and then put a little water in to make it wet before we planted them. If instead you water them afterwards then the water can swill around inside the pot, and you my have no idea where your poor little seeds have gone. They were put in 1 cm or so deep.

They are by a low radiator for extra warmth, in a window that receives a lot of morning sunshine, and as we said the middle tray is heated. We will not be putting them in the greenhouse until May.

To finish here is a picture of primroses (and a rain gauge) on our allotment.

We hope you have enjoyed our offering. Have fun experimenting with your growing of seeds. May your hearts be full of peace and joy, and may you be full of health.

Om Amriteshwaryai Namaha