I spent Spring Break at home with my family and finally began to notice signs that spring had arrived. The weather throughout March was more consistent unlike earlier in the year, when it was constantly changing. I was finally able to spend time outside without too much worry about getting sick. In an ironic way, I spent the first day of spring outside with my mom adding new plants to the garden.
I did get onto the ground and I got dirty from the soil but I had an opportunity to look at the soil. This time around, the ground was soft but not muddy. I had to go barefoot but I did not mind it. When it rains, my backyard has a vibrant green color. There is mud but you would not be able to tell because of the grass. The dirt felt neither too dry nor too wet- it was moist. My mom and I had to dig small holes for the numerous plants we were going to add. As we dug through the top soil, the dirt started to have a clay-like texture. Like the top soil, it was moist but it had a lighter brown color like clay.
We planted a variety of things- serrano peppers, jalapeños, habanero peppers, hierba buena (spearmint) and tomatillos (Mexican Husk tomatoes- the green ones used for salsa verde). It took some effort to dig since nothing had been planted since fall 2014. After placing everything, we watered the plants. We added an extra layer of soil that is sold in stores. Weeds don’t grow often and the only insects we’ll occasionally have around my home are flies and bees. Sometimes there will be mosquitoes in the summer when it rains. A week later, the soil that we dug had blended in with the grass. By then, the tree near the garden had begun to bloom small leaves. No birds were within my sight but I could hear them off in the distance.
My family does not use any kind of chemical to ward off weeds or bugs though. Because my family is from Mexico, growing things is part of our culture but using pesticides, herbicides or fungicide is never discussed. No one that I know uses these chemicals in their gardens.
In A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold states that “The mountain in summer had as many moods as there were days and weathers;”. The quote reminded me of the unpredictable weather Texas is known for. I’ve noticed it tends to be cold, wet winters or dry, hot summers. We typically don’t get an actual spring or fall since it’s either to warm or too cold for it to feel like it’s either season. In this case, the entire state of Texas is the mountain and our unpredictable weather is the mood. How will the weather change in the next month? I can predict it will get warmer but I’m more curious to see how the plants will grow.