The opening of our seedling greenhouse is something of a ritual,
a familiar routine that one cannot circumvent, a to-do list that one repeats year after year, albeit always with some apprehension: will the furnace fire up as it should – or not? Will there water flow – or not? Fortunately, the furnace started; but sure enough, a couple of hours of to-ing and fro-ing between the well, the pump and the greenhouse were required to fill the water pipes so the season’s work could begin in earnest.
After 14 years, one would think that the ritual would be a given,
a choreography executed with mindless effort, with sowing coming to me as naturally as breathing. But no, winter erases all reflexes and much know-how, and the first pinches of leek seeds are clumsily sown in not-so-straight lines in their trays. The disorientation is only momentary, though. As muscle memory returns, the lines become straighter, the sowing becomes more precise and the trays are filled with increasing speed and efficiency.
Now I can say the growing season has truly begun in earnest…
We look forward to seeing you all again this summer.