Why Stop?

Why Stop?

It’s fall and soon the leaves will be falling. That means that cold weather, snow and ice can’t be far behind and the end of another gardening season. WHY? If we as gardeners enjoy gardening as much as we say we do, why do we find it so easy to put the tools away each fall? Why do we retreat inside when the weather gets cold and then start complaining about cabin fever and how we long for spring and to be out in the garden? It seems to me that we are a contrary and fickle lot, we gardeners. Few other passions in life offer as much ability and diversity as gardening and the limits as to how, what, when and why lie squarely on our shoulders. Never before has the opportunity to enjoy something the year round been more prevalent than it is today for gardeners.

Gardening beyond the season is not a new concept at all. In fact the roots of our modern greenhouse go all the way back to the ancient Romans. It seems that Emperor Tiberius enjoyed cucumbers all winter long in the earliest know greenhouses, with the earliest know modern versions of greenhouses appearing in the 16th century. The curious thing about season extenders is that they actually worked backward, starting with the greenhouse and working backward with cold frames, hotbeds, cloches and then row covers. Yes humanity has sought to fool nature and enjoy the fruits of gardening into the normally barren periods of winter right up until modern day. Even the humblest of gardens enjoyed at least a hotbed and cloches. Then it all virtually stopped in the modern world. Why?

Did it become easier for modern man to rely on mass produced (but inferior) produce, plants and flowers? Did we get to a point that we were looking for a reason to complain about winter and the barren garden or did it just happen that way? Never before has it been easier and cheaper to extend the growing season by even a few weeks than ever before in history. Simple cloches can be as simple as polyethylene plastic stretched over wire frames and can extend the growing season of many plants by several weeks. Hotbeds can be as simple and cheap as a few bales of straw and some old windows and greenhouses are at an all time low price, with nearly an infinite variety of sizes, shapes and styles to choose from.

But then, why does off-season gardening need to be in the ground at all? Or outside for that matter? With artifial sun replacement lighting taking on scientific proportions and Hydroponics now within reach of virtually everyone, it seems unimaginable that anyone who claims to be a gardener would be so willing to put away the tools eacg year when the weather cools. If we are, as we say, "Gardeners" shouldn't we also wish to take every oportunty to enjoy living plants without relegating our winter efforts to a few plants we call "house plants? Why also are we who claim to enjoy fresh produce the most, so willing to sacrifice that enjoyment in favor of the grossly inferior "stuff" offered in our local markets? There are so many fresh vegetables that can be successfully grown indoors that it seems natural that we should also wish to have at the very least the makings for a "FRESH" salad.

Rven composting has evolved into an artform that can be accomplished indoors and the resulting compost or worm castings used to produce a lush indoor oasis in the dead of winter. No my friend, I am not content to retire the tools each fall. But rather I make a conscious effort to "trade" the outdoor tools for indoor tools. I trade the sunglasses and hoses for artificial lighting and a watering can. Instead of rain and a digging fork, I have a plant mister and a pot trowel. Instead of raised beds and annuals, I have planters and forced spring bulbs. No my friend, I am not resigned to agonizing through winter and it's brutal grip on the normal cycle of life outside because I AM A GARDENER! I do not have to be content with waiting for spring, for I have the tools, ability and desire to overcome winter.

I AM A GARDENER!

the "Hillbilly Gardener"

Lyndell (Jerry) Miller

(417) 777-2285

plantman.ozarks@yahoo.com

www.jerrysplantsonline.com

www.icelebrateholidays.com

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