Leonard Moorehead, the Urban Gardener: Consider the Mustard Seed
Sunday, January 01, 2017
Leonard Moorehead, GoLocalProv Gardening Expert
Gardeners are optimistic people. We begin as small seeds. Humble and unique, each of us holds the key to the future. Complicated life? Daunting challenges? The joy of living is the theme, action is the key. Clear the kitchen table, begin the feast. Gather up seed packets, mustard piquant and green, is among lettuces, endive, arugula, and cress. Miniscule wonders, life is in the palms of our hands. Miracles are within our grasp.
Much life is spent as a seed. Every aspect is condensed within. Our hopes, our dreams, our vision, is not disguised. All are woven and tangled helix, spirals without beginning or end. We need only look at the small and understand the big follows. Any actions required? Must we meddle with destiny? Our fingers cannot resist, we ignore frozen doubts. Each garden begins as a small mustard seed. Poor vision? Go larger, how about the amaryllis?
Amaryllis are colorful. Their 6 to 10 inch trumpet shaped blooms borne on 1 to 2 foot stalks are most popular as red or scarlet, the flowers may be bicolor, picotee, or pink, white, salmon or rose. Single and double blooms dispel any winter blues. Their large bulb is easy to handle and grows with only a nod to cares or conditions. Bright light, a tight pot and steady water are the chief ingredients for success. Start amaryllis now for lovely blooms in 6-7 weeks, just in time for blizzards, snow bound days or perhaps, as tokens of love at Valentine’s Day.
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Here’s how. Larger amaryllis bulbs yield larger or multiple blooms. Like geraniums, the amaryllis prefers tight pots, they thrive root bound. Their bulbs contain enough nutrition for bloom without fertilizers, an amaryllis will bloom set in a pot an inch or two larger than the bulb and simply kept moist in a bright window. Allow the shoulders or top inch of the bulb to show above planting media, which can be as simple as pebbles or gravel. Insert 12” bamboo supports when potting for the large, heavy blooms. Twist a quarter turn each watering for even growth. Presto!
Amaryllis have long blooming periods. Keep away from constant sunlight to prolong the blooms and keep colors vibrant. Their ability to banish winter is legendary. Don’t have the heart to toss out spent blooms and lively bulb? Despite low cost and convenience, amaryllis can be kept year after year.
Plant amaryllis in a tight fitting pot deep pot. Enrich potting soil with bone meal for good root development. We’re looking beyond the first bloom to nourish the bulb for future bloom. Allow the flowers to complete bloom, prune back the flowering stalk when it fades. Keep up with watering, feed with fish emulsion every few weeks. The long, slender leaves are key for successful future bloom, don’t trim back. Latter in the spring, move out doors after danger of frost into the garden, an out of the way place with good sunshine is fine. Next autumn, before frost, inspect the pot. Has the bulb swollen to fill the pot? Re-pot into another, slightly larger pot and move into the basement or another cool, dark place. Decrease watering, allow to mostly dry out.
Bring into sunlight and increase watering around this time next year. Amaryllis have long life spans will little care. Plant new colors as fancy demands or continue with favorites. Amaryllis have few pests and tolerate off season neglect. They are not frost tolerant. A little care goes a long way towards successful processions of lovely blooms.
Enjoy the amaryllis? Try Clivia as well. Clivia is fragrant and retains its green foliage throughout the year. Like amaryllis, clivia is not frost tolerant and must “rest” between blooming periods. They prefer being slightly root bound, a virtue for urban gardeners with little indoor space. Sturdy and resilient, clivias are a bit more pricy than amaryllis. However, their long life spans and stunning flowers more than justify the cost. Offshoots are easily separated from parent plants for propagation. Orange blooms are most common, yellow has gained supporters, once embraced, clivia keeps its hold gardeners hearts.
Gardeners are optimistic folks. There are many troubles in the world. When darkness calls for light, gardeners have easy answers close at hand. Rescue amaryllis from sale bins or shop for left over bulbs at post-holiday sales. Like the mustard seed, we start small and nurture. Hope is not elusive. Water, sunlight and a bright outlook manifests in lovely trumpet shaped blooms. Let’s begin the New Year with hope and confidence. Much of life is as a seed. Experience the joy of living, small mustard seeds or larger bulbs, one at a time.
Leonard Moorehead is a life- long gardener. He practices organic-bio/dynamic gardening techniques in a side lot surrounded by city neighborhoods in Providence, RI. His adventures in composting, wood chips, manure, seaweed, hay and enormous amounts of leaves are minor distractions to the joy of cultivating the soil with flowers, herbs, vegetables, berries, and dwarf fruit tree.
Related Slideshow: 25 Things to do in New England This Winter - 2016
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Newport Winter Festival
Newport, Rhode Island
From February 12 to 21, Newport will be hosting the 28th annual Newport Winter Festival throughout Newport County. Hosting events like Beatlemania, chili cook-off, the Winter Festival is 10 days of music and over 150 events, providing fun for the entire family.
Photo courtesy of Newport Winter Festival
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Dog Sled Tours at New England Dog Sledding
Mason Township, Maine
Embrace the call of the wind and head to New England Dog Sledding for some dog sled tours. Tours are pulled by trained and "very friendly" Alaskan Husky sled dogs and are offered throughout the Bethel, Maine and North Conway,New Hampshire areas. You can also enjoy skijoring, which is nordic skiing pulled by a dog, so you can bring your own or rent one of theirs!
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Curling at Ocean State Curling Club
Cranston RI
Try something new, like curling.
The Ocean State Curling Club has your curling fix. Hosting events and tournaments or "bonspiels" at the Veteran’s Memorial Ice Rink in Cranston, RI, the Ocean State Curling Club is a "social club for anyone interested in recreational curling." The club also offers lessons for those who want to learn the sport.
Photo: dave/Flickr
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Ski Ward
Shrewsbury, MA
Go tubing, skiing or snowboarding on the different terrains of Ski Ward.
New to the mountain? You can learn how to ride with lessons from their instructors or perfect your technique if you happen to be more experienced. And don't forget to take the whole family out to Slope side Bar and Grill after a long day in the snow.
Photo: Ski Ward
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Ice Fishing
It's practically a tradition for a lot of people but ice fishing is an interesting winter experience. Head out to the ponds and see what you can get.
But be safe, it takes 4-6 inches of ice to support a person and 8-10 inches to support a vehicle.
Photo courtesy of Dushan Hanuska/flickr
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Ice Climbing with Adventure Spirit
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Cross Country Skiing
East Bay Bike Path, Bristol to Providence RI
Grab your poles and skis and head down to the East Bay Bicycle Path for some Cross Country Skiing. Of course, you can go cross country skiing anywhere there is snow and some flat land, but the East Bay Bike Path stretches about 14 miles from Bristol to India Point Park in Providence.
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Lowell Winterfest
Lowell, MA
The 16th Annual Lowell Winterfest is set to take place on February 19 and 20th.
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Ice Sculptures, a fire dance and a city hall lighting also highlight the festival.
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Go Snowshoeing
For those who can't ski or snowboard, snowshoeing is another way to get around in the snow. Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire ski resorts have designated snowshoeing facilities, but the best part is you can strap into a pair and walk around anywhere snow is too deep for boots.
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Sledding in RI
Winter time means it's time to get the sleds out and find some serious hills to conquer.
Click here for Golocal's most recent list of the best sledding hills in Rhode Island.
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Pond Hockey
Lace up the skates, grab your favorite jersey and stick and hit the frozen ponds for some hockey. Maybe just some one on one action or grab a bunch of friends and play a full scale game.
Either way enjoy the ice.
But be safe, But be safe, it takes 4-6 inches of ice to support a person.
Photo courtesy of yooperann/flckr
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Take a Nature Walk at Squam Lakes
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Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness, NH offers a wide arrange of guided tours of live animal trails. A staff naturalist leads and teaches groups how certain animals are adapted to the winter climate in New Hampshire. The guided tours are run on weekends and can be a great way to experience and learn more about nature in New England.
Photo: Doug Brown/Flickr
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Day and Night Skiing at Wachusett Mountain
Princeton, MA
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Paint and Vino
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Forget about winter by painting a picture of a tropical sunset at Paint and Vino, Rhode Island's first paint and wine studio. Bring children for family paint events and parties, or leave them at home to enjoy complimentary "adult beverages" as you paint. Perfect for date night, girls night out or a fun friday night, Paint and Vino's classes run for 2 1/2 to 3 hours and a spot must be reserved.
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Providence Winter Restaurant Weeks
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Sarah Potenza at The Met
Providence, Rhode Island
RI native and The Voice veteran Sarah Potenza will be playing a homecoming show on January 24th at The Met
Expect a full show of classics and maybe some tunes from her new album Monster.
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Snowmobiling in Vermont
Mount Snow, Vermont
Snowmobiling across the wilderness is an exhilarating and adventurous experience during the winter.
Be sure to get on a snowmobile at least once this winter.
Photo: Frank Kehren/Flickr
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Jump Around at Launch Trampoline Park
Need to get some energy out? or get the energy out of your kids? Head to Launch Trampoline Park. They have a park in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
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Give to the Community
While the winter holidays are generally the biggest volunteer days of the year, any day of the year is a great time to give to organizations or people in need. The winter season is sometimes when items like food, clothes, blankets and other things are needed the most.
Click here for how to give back to RI non profits.
Click here for how to give back to Mass non profits.
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Get the House Organized
The weather isn't great, it's freezing out side. Winter presents a great opportunity to get the house organized. It's not the most fun thing in the world of course, but it will pay off and at the end of it, you will be glad you did it.
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Zip Line
Mount Washington, Bretton Woods New Hampshire
Soar down Mount Washington on a series of tree-top zip lines! The Canopy Tour is lead by one of Bretton Woods Adventure Guides as they describe the native fauna and flora. You'll descend over 1000 feet of elevation on this 3 hour tour. Each tour guide can take a group of up to 8, so grab some friends and zip down the mountain!
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