Verdant View – June 2024

Braiding Sweetgrass

Every so often, but not too frequently, a book crosses your path that resonates clearly with your own beliefs, which fills in those effective gaps, which astounds and educates you, taking you to greater levels of understanding. Braiding Sweetgrass Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and The Teachings of Plants by Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer is such a book for me.

My husband Brad introduced me to Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer and her work. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a botanist and a member of the Potawatomi Nation. I read the book with rapt attention, nodding recognition with every page I devoured. I felt a reassurance of the things I had learned and believed in. I learned about the commonality between the indigenous cultures of Mexico and those of the Potawatomi Nation. The book affirmed the subjective way indigenous cultures view our earth and of their belief in the reciprocity and reverence for the natural world.

Dr. Kimmerer embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. Braiding Sweetgrass takes us on a journey that is mythic and scientific, that is sacred and historical, that is personal and global. She believes that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. Only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth and learn to give our own gifts in return.

Some of the lessons that were highlighted while reading the book are: the importance of indigenous wisdom, reciprocity with the natural world, the language of plants, cultivating gratitude, honoring ancestral knowledge, the ethics of gathering, restoring ecological balance, the power of storytelling, finding beauty in the natural world and living in kinship with all beings.

Robin Wall Kimmerer writes, “There was a time when I teetered precariously with an awkward foot in each of two worlds – the scientific and the indigenous. But then, I learned to fly, or at least try. It was the bees that showed me how to move between different flowers, to drink the nectar and gather pollen from both. It is this dance of cross-pollination that can produce a new species of knowledge, a new way of being in the world. After all, there aren’t two worlds, there is just this one, good green earth.”

“Robin Wall Kimmerer’s writing seems to ignite a deep-seated remembrance in me. Through her indigenous, Potawatomi eyes I see my ancestral memories, recognize my natural relationships with Mother Earth, reconfirm my obligations of reciprocity and gratitude to nature, especially to my fellow beings. I feel as if my soul has been re-booted.”

– F. Nava

A New York Times Bestseller
A Washington Post Bestseller
Named a “Best Essay Collection of the Decade” by Literary Hub

Book: https://amzn.to/4dpAhv1

You can get the audio book for FREE by using the same link above when you register on the Audible platform.

What to plant in June

Dahlias, all types of Begonias, Impatiens, Verbenas. Rudbeckia and flor amarilla are at the viveros. It’s a good time to put in ferns. Staghorns will be very happy if they are kept moist and out of direct sun. All types of lilies will be blooming now. Some flower seeds to plant in June are Cosmos, marigolds, sunflowers and Zinnias. Disbud Dahlias for larger blooms. Stake tall plants before the rains begin. Plant beans, beets, peppers, okra, sweet corn and tomatoes. Water frequently, as the soil in pots dries out faster. If you have not been spraying for pests, now is a good time to start. As an effective spray for most insects a bit of dish soap in water in a spray bottle will do. It is a good deterrent for mild cases of white fly. Weeds are growing faster now so keep up with them. Keep deadheading regularly.

What to do in the garden in June

Garden growth shifts into high gear this month, with hot air temperatures and warm soil. Plants are settled in and well on their way toward strong growth, many blooms, and delicious harvests. 

You’ve noticed that the weeds are growing lushly and even putting out their blossoms and setting seed. Time to pull them immediately, with no more delay, since you definitely don’t want them to propagate and recycle themselves. Watering the day before weeding will ease the chore, and the weed’s entire root systems will come out more readily. If you leave pulled weeds in garden pathways as drying mulch, be sure to leave them with their roots up so they don’t re-root. But never leave weeds that have already developed their seed heads. Some seeds may continue to mature before the foliage completely dries up and some will undoubtedly germinate next year.

Transplant seedlings close enough so that the leaves of mature plants will shade the soil between the plants. This will keep plant roots cooler, and the sun won’t bake the soil. There’s less evaporation, so you’ll have to water less.

Some vegetables are more efficient than others, producing more food for the amount of garden space they use and the time they require from you. Carrots, cucumbers, onions, potatoes, summer squash, and tomatoes produce the most. Yields of cucumbers, squashes, and tomatoes can be even greater when they are grown up trellises, saving soil space for growing more crops.

Finish trimming crossing or damaged branches on citrus trees. Fruit is produced on new wood, so remove entire branches (thinning) rather than shortening them (heading back). To redirect branches, trim them to a leaf pointing outward in the direction you want new growth to go. The new bud will form at its base.

Sow or transplant lima and snap beans, celeriac, celery, chard, cucumbers, eggplants, oak leaf and other heat-tolerant and bolt-resistant lettuces, melons, okra, peppers, pumpkins, New Zealand spinach, summer and winter squash, and tomatoes. Sow beets, carrots, corn, sweet potato slips and radishes directly where they’ll mature.

Plant the last batch of corn this month, as later plantings will probably have smut problems (those big grey and black puffs of fungus in place of kernels) when harvested in September. Or you may choose to inoculate your corn with the fungus. It’s a delicacy in Southwest and Mexican cuisine called Huitlacoche.

Pinch back herbs, especially fast-growing basil, to encourage bushy, more delicate flavored growth through the summer. Pinch off any blossoms that start to develop to keep the plants developing more fragrant foliage.

Mulch the soil with organic matter such as compost, leaves, or grass clippings to temper the drying and heating effect of the sun. Irrigation will be more effective with less water frequency and quantity.

Container plants and hanging baskets need daily watering now that they have established themselves and the temperatures have risen. Water perennial plants, vegetable gardens, and shrubs deeply and frequently. Ensure that your drip irrigation system is set up correctly and is in good working order.

We are really feeling the heat, so plan to get out in the garden early and get your garden chores done before the sun becomes too intense.

Reminder: Our next Summer Solstice will be on June 20, 2024, at 2:50 p.m. CST.

The summer solstice marks the official start of astronomical summer and the longest day of the year. From this point on the days start getting shorter.