Happy International Women’s Day!
Today we are celebrating women and the kick off to a gardening experiment whose success I’m getting more and more invested in every day.
This is Day 1. After reading countless blog posts, listening to YouTube videos and planning my strategy, plus ordering and purchasing supplies, this is it. The beginning. I am embarking on a possibly impossible journey. I am (fingers crossed, successfully!) growing Sponge Luffa Gourds at my home in Howard County, Maryland. I am planning to recruit my Master Gardner mother to foster a few plants or try to grow them also. Since it is an experiment, I know I should keep my hopes and expectations low. But, at this point, they are not low. My plan is audacious. This is not the climate for this type of plant, normally. But are we having normal weather these days? No. So, why not try it? I am also experimenting for the first time with using a seedling heat mat, which many gardeners use to jump start their spring flowers and vegetables.
I am so excited about this project and can’t wait to see how my little seedlings do with the heat mat. If this experiment produces even one sponge, I’m going to upload all the video I took of my planting steps to YouTube. YouTube stardom is obviously a secondary goal. But, my main goal in this quest is to produce my own sponges. Ones that can be composted when they reach the end of their useful or healthy existence, as part of my personal climate actions. These actions include using less plastic, growing plants that people and pollinators need, and living in a more sustainable way. Plus, I already have a couple of friends who want to be the first to get one of my locally grown sponges. So, there is a cheering squad. And, when people hear the climate actions that I am taking, I notice they, too, consider what they can do to help the environment. I can’t think of a better way to encourage climate action and good stewardship of our planet than being a model and example for this necessary behavior.
#hocoblogs
AngieKozBlogs 