Tag: Soil

Calendar of the Sun for July 12

Calendar of the Sun

Solstitium

Colors: Green and gold
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of green and gold set flowers and herbs in pots, a bowl of rainwater, a large pitcher of manure tea, and several empty baskets.
Offerings: Water and fertilizer, to be added to the garden.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian.

Solstitium Invocation

Earth, you begin to give forth your bounty!
Like the maiden blossoming into the mother,
Like the youth growing into the father,
You yield your children up to us
For our sustenance and health,
As we are also your children.
We will not waste your gifts!
We will nurture what you bring forth
With the labor of our hands,
That those gifts shall be sustained
Year after year, and that you shall
Never be exhausted.
We will not be ungrateful, O Earth whose life is ours,
But we will give back as much as we take,
For this is the way of balance.

Chant:
Life harnessed
Call the sun to us
Sacred harvest
You are one with us

(Two who have been chosen to do the work of the ritual take up the rainwater and the manure tea, and carry them out to the garden, where they are ceremonially poured around the roots of the herbs and vegetables. All others follow with the empty baskets, and harvest some thing from the garden, whether a token or a main part of the next meal. After this, each should do some part of the work of further watering, or fertilizing, or mulching, to give back to the earth as much as is taken away.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for June 14

Media Ver

Color: Green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a green cloth set growing herbs and flowers in pots, a pitcher of rainwater, small dishes of late-sowed seeds such as lettuce (as many as there are people), a flower wreath, and a single green candle.
Offerings: Seeds to be planted in the garden.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Media Ver Invocation

Earth, you have awakened to our touch!
The winds have stirred you,
The rain has nourished you,
The sun has opened your eyes.
Your million mouths open
On the unfolded leaves of every tree.
We glory in your abundance,
In the dance of your youth,
And we dance for your brilliant life
And your new season.
Yet now is the time when the real work begins.
If we would keep what we have sown,
We must not stop here,
But we must labor for the sustenance
Of our creation, as it has always been.
For the first growth is a miracle from the Gods,
But the second growth is the miracle unseen,
From the labor of our hands,
Which is also sacred.

Chant:
Green growing
Green Man knowing
Path of striving
Way of opening

(Each takes a pot of seeds and goes to the garden, and hoes or otherwise prepares a space for planting, and then plants their seeds, chanting while doing so. The pitcher of rainwater is carried out and ritually poured onto the seeds. Weeding should also be done at this time, and the care for plants that have already broken the surface.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for June 12

Media Ver

Color: Green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a green cloth set growing herbs and flowers in pots, a pitcher of rainwater, small dishes of late-sowed seeds such as lettuce (as many as there are people), a flower wreath, and a single green candle.
Offerings: Seeds to be planted in the garden.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Media Ver Invocation

Earth, you have awakened to our touch!
The winds have stirred you,
The rain has nourished you,
The sun has opened your eyes.
Your million mouths open
On the unfolded leaves of every tree.
We glory in your abundance,
In the dance of your youth,
And we dance for your brilliant life
And your new season.
Yet now is the time when the real work begins.
If we would keep what we have sown,
We must not stop here,
But we must labor for the sustenance
Of our creation, as it has always been.
For the first growth is a miracle from the Gods,
But the second growth is the miracle unseen,
From the labor of our hands,
Which is also sacred.

Chant:
Green growing
Green Man knowing
Path of striving
Way of opening

(Each takes a pot of seeds and goes to the garden, and hoes or otherwise prepares a space for planting, and then plants their seeds, chanting while doing so. The pitcher of rainwater is carried out and ritually poured onto the seeds. Weeding should also be done at this time, and the care for plants that have already broken the surface.)

 

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for Wednesday, Feb. 8th

Calendar of the Sun

Ancestor Day

Color: Black and grey
Element: Earth
Altar: Spread a black cloth, and lay it with photographs, paintings, and other depictions of our ancestors. Add also symbols of their old tools, and statues of ancestral deities, a bowl of seeds for the future garden, pots of soil, a pitcher of water, and many candles of black and white and grey.
Offerings: Things they would have liked to eat, drink, smoke, or smell. Tend a cemetery and clean up the graves.
Daily Meal: Food from an earlier era, using authentic recipes.

Invocation to the Ancestors

Our ancestors got up at dawn,
Slaved in the dirt,
Sweated in the sun,
Chilled in the cold,
Numbed in the snow,
Scattering each seed with a prayer:
Pray that there be enough,
That no one starve this winter.
Pray that no bird nor beast
Steal the food I have struggled for.
And most of all,
Pray that each seed I save
Of this harvest
Shall next year
Bring forth a hundred more.
We live today
Because they worked
Because they sowed
Because they harvested
Because they prayed.

Chant:
Those who came before
We are your children
Those who came before
We honor your names

(Each person takes seeds from the bowl and plants them in the pots of soil, speaking the name of one of their ancestors as they do so, as in: “In honor of _______.” The pots are watered, and the candles put out one by one.)

Calendar of the Sun for Tuesday, February 7th

Calendar of the Sun

Ancestor Day

Color: Black and grey
Element: Earth
Altar: Spread a black cloth, and lay it with photographs, paintings, and other depictions of our ancestors. Add also symbols of their old tools, and statues of ancestral deities, a bowl of seeds for the future garden, pots of soil, a pitcher of water, and many candles of black and white and grey.
Offerings: Things they would have liked to eat, drink, smoke, or smell. Tend a cemetery and clean up the graves.
Daily Meal: Food from an earlier era, using authentic recipes.

Invocation to the Ancestors

Our ancestors got up at dawn,
Slaved in the dirt,
Sweated in the sun,
Chilled in the cold,
Numbed in the snow,
Scattering each seed with a prayer:
Pray that there be enough,
That no one starve this winter.
Pray that no bird nor beast
Steal the food I have struggled for.
And most of all,
Pray that each seed I save
Of this harvest
Shall next year
Bring forth a hundred more.
We live today
Because they worked
Because they sowed
Because they harvested
Because they prayed.

Chant:
Those who came before
We are your children
Those who came before
We honor your names

(Each person takes seeds from the bowl and plants them in the pots of soil, speaking the name of one of their ancestors as they do so, as in: “In honor of _______.” The pots are watered, and the candles put out one by one.)

A Super-Simple Way to Grow Food: Start a Bag Garden

A Super-Simple Way to Grow Food: Start a Bag Garden

  • Shelley Stonebrook

I’m all for planting in well-worked, well-maintained garden beds, but because of busy schedules and limited growing space, that isn’t an option for everyone. If you’ve been thinking of taking the plunge into the joy of growing your own food and want to start with an easy method, a bag garden might be for you.

To plant a bag garden, you simply purchase a few bags of topsoil from your local garden center (buy more than a few if you have the space and want to grow even more). Lay the bags anywhere that gets full sun and has dirt below—most people just lay them on the edge of a yard in the grass (note: the bags will kill the lawn directly below them, but that’s OK because this has transformed into garden space).

Next, use a utility knife to cut out a large, rectangular window on the upper surface of each bag. Leave the sides and 2 inches of each top edge intact, resembling a picture frame (see illustration above). The 2-inch rim of plastic will keep the soil from spilling and help retain moisture. Lightly dust the surface of the soil inside the bags with organic fertilizer and mix it in with a trowel. (Skip this if the bag’s label says fertilizer has already been added.)

After that, stab each bag through at least a dozen times with a screwdriver or a big knife to create plenty of drainage holes in the bottom. Plant roots will eventually use these holes to grow down into the soil below the bags.

Next, it’s time to plant your seeds! Consider trying easy-to-grow spring crops such as lettuce and spinach. Then, sit back, watch your veggies grow, and before you know it you’ll be enjoying a fresh salad you grew yourself!

A Few Tips On Your Spring Planting

Advice on Pest Control

Here’s a better way to prevent insect invasion than choking your herbs with chemical sprays.

  • Create a balanced, organic soil environment. Use organic compost and amendments.

  • Adjust the soil pH to 7.0.

  • Companion plant to reduce infestation. Plant chives or silvery herbs like silver king artemisia to reduce aphids.

  • Vary the color, size, texture, and scent of plants to confuse insects.

  • Rotate crops, amending the soil biannually, to reduce fungal and viral disease prone to one crop. Amend the soil to introduce microorganisms which will reduce nematode and fungal growth.

  • Use plant traps, colors, and pheromones to lure insects away from your garden. Marigolds will lure spider mites away and yellow or sticky paper will attract whiteflies and catch them.

  • Remove dead or diseased debris and weeds to prevent insects such as grasshoppers from hatching or over wintering in their protection.

  • Row covers and netting deter chewing insects. They are available at feed stores and nurseries.

  • Use biological insect control. Release ladybugs at night to reduce aphids. Dig earthworms into the soil to enhance aeration and reduce fungal disease. Use lizards and frogs to reduce the insect population.

  • Spray with soapy water and plant-derived insecticides only when necessary and after using biologicals, companion planting, and common sense.