by Monica Shaner

Imbolc has come and gone. The lambs suckle, balancing on wobbly new legs. The snowdrops are blooming, and buds swell on the magnolia trees. The Cailleach, though tiring, still stirs from time to time to blow a chilling gray wind through zone 6b. Brigid, with her pale green mantle is here, too. The bittercress, henbit, and vetch creep their colors over disturbed ground.

Cool Season Crops:

These are plants that do best in temperatures from 60- 75 degrees Fahrenheit (16-24 Celsius.) Here in the Midwest part of the US, they can be planted as soon as the ground can be worked, usually around the spring equinox. Common cool season crops include lettuces, spinach, radishes, carrots, poppies, broccoli, and peas. They can withstand a frost and will even make it through a late season snowstorm.

This is the time of 2 fires. There’s the one kindled at Imbolc to welcome Brigid, growing and strengthening with the sun. But the embers of the Cailleach’s hearth still burn—the smoke rolling into the sky making for the hard gray days at the end of winter.  I have mixed feelings about the end of the cold season. Part of me wants to sleep in a little longer, puttering about with small tasks, watching the snow fall. The Cailleach has mixed feelings, too, if the weather is any indication. All things are in flux.

Seed Starting Inside, Step 1:

Starting seeds inside, whether under grow lights or on a sunny windowsill, looks harder than it is. Get some coconut coir and follow the instructions to make it expand into a nice fluffy damp consistency. Get a container that is at least 2-3 inches tall. Plastic take- out containers work. So does a fancy seed tray from a box store. No judgment. It just needs to hold the coir. If you are making your own, poke a hole in the bottom and put the lid of the container under—like a teacup with a saucer. Place large seeds, like peas, an inch or so apart on the surface of the coconut coir, then push them into the coir so that they are just covered. For smaller seeds like lettuce, sprinkle them across the top like you would if adding sprinkles to the top of a cake or cookie. You don’t need to push the small seeds in. You can cover the container with plastic or slip it inside a clear bag to keep moisture in, but make sure to remove it as soon as you see the first sprouts. If you don’t cover, the seedlings, plan to use a spray bottle daily to keep the moisture level up.

My cool season crops are in the greenhouse now, stretching their radicles into the dirt and rolling out their cotyledons. The leaf lettuces and I have made a deal. They come up strong and share the fruits of photosynthesis with me. I plant them in a tub and move them to shade when the sun gets too strong. We get along this way well into summer. And it is time to turn toward that new season, toward the summer to come. Brigid has lit her forge. If this year is to be better than the last, it will be up to me to make it so.

Seed Starting Inside, Step 2:

Set the container under a grow light or on a sunny windowsill that faces south or, in a pinch, west. Keep the coconut coir moist, but not soaked. If you see mold growing, sprinkle a bit of cinnamon over the coir. When there are true leaves—the second set—you will need to start thinking about fertilizing. But it will be a few weeks before they are ready for this. And the peas will never need it. I will talk more about that next time. You have enough for now.

This time of year takes fortitude. It takes faith. The effort put in between Imbolc and the Spring Equinox has to be given without knowing the reward. We give our last kernels of grain to the earth, and hope for reciprocity.  We look at the shriveled, grayish peas and offer them in hopes that by burying them, they will return to life. The seed catalogs piled on the counter offer some support, some confidence. Bright colored images of what could be. Just add water. My seeds are all gathered, swapped and purchased by now, but I flip through the pages anyway. A reminder of Brigid’s magic. Light the fire. Plant the seed. The time of dreaming is over, the time to burn with inspiration has arrived.