Spring/ Summer Planting
2021 is going to be the best garden year yet!! This year we’ve really figured out a lot of things (and we’re still learning all the time), and we REALLY went in with a plan this year. Last season we got a second 5 ft by 120 ft plot. The winter harvest mostly went to the local wildlife, excluding a few medicinal plants, greens, and roots. While we were a little disappointed, because we didn’t get as much as we’d have liked, we also just considered it our offering to the ecosystem. This season; however, we did fence off our plot, because we have a lot of special things we’re trying to grow this season and we don’t want to lose the seedlings.
Indigo. If you remember I took an indigo class last summer and it was really tranformative and I loved every minute of it. This year, in an effort to be more conscious of where my materials come from, and in furthering the connection to my ancestors, I’m going to try to grow some indigo. The Sonoran Desert isn’t exactly the most ideal climate for growing indigo, so we set up a greenhouse with extra water wells to provide more moisture. It’s been just over a week and we’re already starting to see growth!! I am documenting the process and experience via TikTok/ Instagram, so if you’re interested, here follow here or here or here.
Indigo seeds. They were later gently crushed, then soaked overnight, prior to planting. (Seed source)
Tiniest little sprouts coming up.
2. More cotton!! (Obviously, lol) But the exciting thing about this year is that I seed swapped with other Black growers. So I should have about 7 different varieties and colors, should they all take and sprout. AND one fo the strains I was really excited about actually started sprouting already! Because of how many varieties I’ll have this year, I’m only going to plant a few plants of each. Each cotton plant will, on average, produce about 100 bolls. Since I’m doing all this by hand, I want to keep things manageable. Maybe as I get better and have more demand for products, then I’ll plant more and more. But a little goes a long way so 30-50 plants shoudl be more than enough. Especially considering I only had about 7 or 8 last year and I still have tons of plant matter.
Sea Island Brown making an entrance!
3. Sunflowers, another given of course. Sunflowers are my favorite flower so I will ALWAYS plant them. But they also have medicinal properties and are edible (beyond the seeds). Also, this year I got Hopi Black seeds, because they can be used for dye! I also got some Mexican sunflowers, because my husband is also trying to connect with his heritage and this year we’ve added some Mexican, specifically Mexican, crops and varieties of crops we already grow. The Hopi sunflowers will also provide shade for the greenhouse and support for beans later. (seed source)
4. Glass gem corn. This is my husband’s baby this year. He’s been searching and searching for seeds, and he finally found some, and was so excited to plant some this year. We learned last year that with corn you have to plant kind of a lot so that they can pollinate and produce actual ears of corn. (Last year we only planted a few and were only able to harvest about 2 tiny ears of corn, but they were delicious in the beet corn salad I made with them.) So we’re hoping this year we’ve got enough to make it happen. We are also planting Oaxacan green. Both varieties are Mexican. I have dreams of making tortillas and grits with the corn that we’ve grown.
5. Normal foods we would eat regularly. Last year we harvested some of our seeds from our plants so we’ll have bitter ball, squash, watermelon, and okra from our OWN seeds! And then a couple more varieties of okra, squash, melons, beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, etc. This year we made an effort to buy seeds first from Black owned seed companies or indigenous owned seed companies.
6. Herbs and medicinal plants. I got a sage seed bundle so that I can grow my own sage varieties for smudging/ spiritual work/ healing things. Since white sage, especially, is being over harvested I wanted to do my part and try to grow it myself. I figure if it grows then the plants are ok with my use of them, and if they don’t, then it’s not my time to use them. BUT we planted some seeds last week and I’ve already got a some white sage sprouting. I also planted some lemon balm, dill, etc. Plants that I use in my doula practice. When I make products I try to use plants that I personally know, because I grew them, excluding plants I can’t grow because of climate, etc. This makes the plants more accessible to me, a better relationship between the plants and I, and allows for me to use the freshest herbs possible.
7. Other dye plants. I planted some red amaranth, and some flowers, etc.
Needless to say this year should be very exciting in terms of harvesting and our garden. I’m so excited to continue to get to know the plants I grow and seeing them flourish under my care. When it comes to gardening I’m kind of a throw it in the ground and see what happens, but sing and talk to your plants, encourage them, kind of gardener. I grow for food and medicine. I’ve noticed that when I don’t know how to use the plant, or if it doesn’t have a specific purpose (some are just for my happiness, like my fiddle leaf fig), I tend to kill them. Others I can completely ignore and they just flourish, like my aloe, that produces babies like every other day. WHICH I should say I got as reparations via the Underground Plant Exchange*. (My fiddle leaf is also a reparations plant.) And I accept that I’m not ready to grow and process all plants. But as I continue to grow as a gardener and herbalist, more and more plants are allowing me to have access to them.
Do you garden? If so what do you like to grow?
This is how many seedlings we put into the ground! (PLUS the seeds and the seeds yet to be planted.
*I do want to add that some people scoff at the idea of plants as reparations, but there is a long history of limiting Black folks’ access to plants, because we were able to care for ourselves with them. (Sustenance and financially) When Black folks are given plants as reparations that is literally like giving them money, if they choose to produce more plants for selling/ medicinal use. So last year I was given several aloe plants, no dirt or anything, just propagated and ready to go. I can now use those plants to care for doula clients and create medicine, both of which provide financial support for my family. Reparations looks like a lot of things, and this is one of my favorites. If you’d like to donate more plants to me I have a list and you can email or message or comment and I’ll let you know what I’m looking for. Currently I need more creosote.