Marvelous Magical Seed Catalogs!

Marvelous Magical Seed Catalogs!
By Bob Alexander

Annual seed catalogs are God's way of letting us know that there is a spring. Pretty pictures of juicy red tomatoes with the morning dew dripping off them or images of spicy green peppers make us long for those balmy afternoons and the aroma of freshly turned earth. Seed catalogs allow us to dream of better days.

Tragedies such as the shootings in Aurora, Colorado, Newtown, Connecticut and many other places are impossible to comprehend. I personally don't know if any therapy really works in the short term, but other than praying, here is what I do to help me through dark times.

Planting guides and seed booklets usually show up from Christmas to early spring. They are an excellent way to help recover from a tragedy or some other life changing event. They transport you from the reality of the moment by giving you something dreamy to think of for a short while.

There are pictures with pages and pages of colorful photos that show off each vegetable at its most appealing and appetizing best. Images of bright red and yellow peppers can transport you to a spring garden; the brilliant blossom of a sunflower can light up the gloomiest of mornings.

Prior gardening knowledge isn't necessary to enjoy the beauty of a seed catalog. After getting you psyched out from the professional shots of fruits and vegetables, go down to the feed and seed store to buy a packet of seeds or order them from the catalog. Consider it a project that will take your mind off yourself and transfer those thoughts making a beautiful spring garden.

If true gardening for you is not in the cards, order a packet of chive seeds, they will sprout for any one. For this you will need a pot small enough to fit on your window sill. Make sure the pot has a hole in the bottom so it can drain.

If you don't want excess water dripping down the wall, make sure the container is setting on something that will catch the water. Either that or plant them in a cold frame outdoors.

Mindful that watching a pot of chives grow is not exactly akin to visit to a psychologist, it is a distraction of sorts when it's time for a diversion. After the seeds sprout, you can leave them in the house, though they will grow to 12 to 18 inches if left in the sun and watered regularly.

If you want to transplant the chives, locate a well drain loose soil plot and plant the root about every 4 to 6 inches apart. That gives them room to multiply and sprout little chives. Be sure to water them often and they will return year after year.

Planting and growing any type of plant can be a blessing for those in times of suffering because it provides an outlet for their emotions. Chives have been an answer to many of my troubles; so much so that I have filled a raised bed in the garden that contains several varieties of the plant.

By now they may have cross pollinated and I might have an unknown variety sleeping in my garden. That could be therapy for any other problems I might have.

Bob Alexander is a son of the south. He has gained expert status in eating barbeque, telling fishing stories and leisure living.

Visit his site at: www.redfishbob.com

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