Until Pope Gregory got involved in 1582 most of the known world operated under the Julian calendar, devised by the Roman Pontifex Maximus Gaius Julius in 46 BC. There were many reasons for the change, most of which are not relevant to the purposes of this column; our concern today is that Gregory decided to move New Year’s Day from March 25 to Jan. 1.
Given that Christendom was in the middle of a rather violent Protestant Reformation, not everybody was terribly enthused. The change was not officially accepted in Britain and its colonies until 1752! Some might consider 170 years a long time to resist such change, but we should bear in mind that the bureaucrats who collect our taxes have still not made the adjustment. With the other customs observed by Hebrew and the various Asian calendars it becomes apparent that there is no agreed to date, so what’s a girl to do?
As far as I’m concerned the New Year begins when I can start seeding in flats inside for the garden again, usually on or about March 2. This is not to be confused with the last frost, which occurs on April 23 in my garden, when my shovel can penetrate the soil without bruising my foot. I don’t use a calendar to determine the moment, but a trusty outdoor thermometer that measures highs and lows that I must know when planning my garden. Every garden has its own microclimate; the wise gardener studies her own.
Therefore, in my agenda book I have written my gardening schedule around the last and first frosts, so on Feb. 6 I sow one-third of the pea crop as well as the whole leek crop to harvest next winter, inside on the seed table. Currently I have lettuce and spinach seeds started on my seed table, destined for the cold frame once they are established. The onions and spinach I transplanted into the cold frame previously haven’t grown at all, so perhaps I should have repotted them into larger containers and kept them on the seed table until they grew bigger, and THEN transplanted them into the cold frame. Live and learn.
I’ll sow more lettuce in flats in the seed table in another three weeks, and plan on repotting them also. At the end of the month I’ll sow broccoli, celery, kale, tomatoes and a third of the peas in the seed table which, by this time, is going to be full.
This cold snap has frozen my ground several inches deep and it’s impossible to dig up carrots or onions left in the ground, but once it thaws I intend to dig them all up before they go to seed. I still haven’t planted garlic, so that will have to wait until the ground softens up as well. Fortunately I drenched the garlic beds with microorganisms that are said to destroy fungi before the hard frost set in.
That ought to keep me out of David’s hair for a while. He’ll have to learn to make his own tea.
Please contact mary_lowther@yahoo.ca with questions and suggestions since I need all the help I can get.
