It’s a new year and I am anticipating a new garden. I am waiting patiently for it to be warm enough to go dig in the dirt. Sooooo patiently…but it’s still only February. How is that possible?
I decided a few weeks ago that I needed to fill the time between now and May 15 (this is not an arbitrary date, it’s the date in my part of Ohio where it is safe to plant…no more frosts). This decision, coincidentally, coincided with the arrival of the newsletter for Franklin Park Conservatory – a place devoted to gardening and plants – and my realization that they would be offering classes three Saturdays in a row on gardening basics.
So, of course, I signed up!
You may or may not have noticed that I get weirdly geek-ed out about things you can watch on the Discover Channel and things like gardening. It’s subtle, I know, my geek-nees, so you may have missed it. But if you have noticed, then you will not be surprised to discover that I was really excited for the first Saturday (which was today) because they were going to teach us about…wait for it…seriously, this is worth the wait…
SOIL!
Hooray! Someone to finally explain why my plants hate my garden and would rather give up the ghost than produce vegetables for me to munch.
And I was absolutely NOT disappointed. I learned about soil testing, pH levels, what makes soil, composting (cannot wait to start doing this), how to plant certain things together to improve the soil, worms! and so many other things. I feel smarter. Especially about the worms.
The two-hour class flew by. I have to tell you, if you live in Central Ohio and you like gardening, you are missing out if you haven’t taken any of the classes at the Conservatory. It is an amazing place. They recently opened a new community gardening campus (this is where this series of classes take place).
Next week, we learn about the gardening calendar – the instructor will teach us about how to keep our garden going year-round.
I am so happy that I live in a community like this. One that allows me to explore all of my crazy and varied interests…we have the #1 zoo in the country, the # 1 library system in the country, Franklin Park Conservatory, COSI and some great parks besides!
And soon to come…my new and improved garden!
Life is a story 