Yesterday was wet and cold in my part of Michigan. However, I just received a hundred Strawberry Plants. Now I spoke with the company that shipped them and they had some brilliant ideas of how to keep them healthy until I can get them planted. Unfortunately, none of them would work for longer than a few days. So with the temperature in the 40’s during the day and the low 30’s and high 20’s at night, I decided to Plant my strawberries. I had hoped the plants would arrive in September. Why? because the weather was more conducive to playing in the dirt the temperature was warm enough to be comfortable while planting. Now I looked at fall planting a bit differently the temperature was all of 36 degrees yesterday at noon. According to the Old Farmers Almanac the best days for planting was October 21st, unfortunately, yesterday actually lived up to the weather forecast for a change which offers 41 degrees as a high with rain and snow showers. So I dressed for the weather I separated 100 bare root strawberry plants and proceeded to place them in the ground. I will admit that I usually do not find fall planting a challenge. However yesterday the temperature did not make it to the 40-degree mark until well after I had my strawberries planted.
The good part of this is that I had no distractions while planting. No one was interested in stopping to chat because I was outside in the garden.
I took the opportunity to make my garden a sacred space where my plants could be protected and grow without interference and to thank Gaia for her nurturing of these plants and all the others she has nurtured for me over the years. I used the time to meditate as I planted row upon row of little strawberry plants. When I was done I thanked Gaia for the help she would give the small plants over the winter and visualized the bountiful harvest that these tiny little plants will bring all summer. I know that gardening can be a spiritual experience and yesterday despite the desire to hurry because it was a chilly 36 degrees I decided to instead take my time and appreciate my interaction with the earth as it is preparing for the winter. Regardless of how well my strawberries do it was an experience that was quite enjoyable and different from my usual gardening experience. I will be covering the small plants over later today when the straw arrives. The below picture is what last years looked like, I am hoping for more of the same this coming summer.