Monkey Obsessions: Happiness (Number Two)

This was supposed to be more of a regular thing, but I found I had other things to babble about and this fell by the wayside. Since I have two hours left to go on my incubation, now is as good a time as any to tackle happiness: number two. (It seems that science is sometimes good for blogging, especially if one is a little hungover and thus unable to focus on reading.)

There are obvious things like friends and family, but I feel maybe that goes without saying. So with spring in the air, and the sky covered with rainclouds, I will choose gardening as another source of intense happiness. About a month ago, I planted many little seeds in egg carton cups and have greatly enjoyed checking up on them every day (and sometimes every hour). At these early stages you can almost SEE them grow. First a bit of green pushes up from what used to be just a blank of soil. Then the seed leaves unfurl and finally the true leaves start to show. I've been watching my lettuces particularly closely, waiting for a few more weeks to pass before I start pulling some of the outer leaves for tiny salads. I love the feel of the dirt (not really dirt, potting mix) in my hands and watching the small green things grow. It's such a miracle an entire plant can come out of these tiny plain seeds.

Little seedlings in repurposed milk cartons (clockwise: parsley, sage, radish, cilantro)

I started another little box of dirt but I've already planted some white icicle radishes in there (are these similar to daikon radishes? I certainly hope so. I had no intention of planting any radishes but a maturation period of a mere 25 days bowled me over and I had to have some.) and today I transplanted a leggy desperate looking sage seedling in. I mean to use whatever space is left for a basil plant or two. I think what this really means is that I need to start a third box soon! Once the lettuces are spent I should have more space again, although maybe by then the strawberries will have taken off.

(Left) Closeup of lettuces (Right Top) Overview of one of my boxes (Right bottom) Closeup of nasturtium

This post is sort of getting away from me. I meant to speak generally about growing but my mind is all caught up in the specifics. Whenever people tell me they're not patient enough to grow things from seed I always nod but privately I marvel. It's such an amazing thing to see the whole process play out. That's the best part about gardening for me; to see plants grow and help them along. I'm still very much a beginner, but it's a very fun learning curve and best of all, the products of happiness number two intersect very well with happiness number one...