With the arrival of January we also have the beginning of the new year. So what better way to implement the fertility customs passed down to us by our grandparents. Let's start:
A. We put all the products of our land on a plate, walnuts, potatoes, beans, corn, wheat and before cutting the king cake we throw them in the four directions sharing wishes: health, love, cooperation, good production, joy, fertility and diversity.
B. Before the Lights arrive we buy or make sweets and drop them on the roof of our house or somewhere in our garden for the gnomes and garden elves.
C. On the day of Lights we take holy water from the church and sprinkle the fields, the animals and the house.
D. In January we start sowing our spring vegetables. One solution is, if we don't have a heated greenhouse, is to do it indoors making sure there is heat, humidity and direct light. We can do our sowing in disposable plastic cups or commercial plant pots. We fill them with digested manure or topsoil. We put three to four seeds in each container. Since the seeds are small, we should cover them very lightly, water them and place them near the window. When they pop, they need sunlight to hit them so they can grow. In two to two and a half months, depending on the species, our plants will be ready for transplanting. We should remember that their stem should be the thickness of a pencil to be able to transplant them.
Q. January is also a very good month to collect materials for our compost. That is, fallen species that fell from the deciduous fruit trees and bushes, from our olive trees, from the remains of the garden and of course from our kitchen. Compost helps us to have our own organic fertilizer economically and in this way we follow the cycles of nature.
F. This particular month is also the right one for pruning our trees, protecting our sensitive plants from frost. It is customary to plant bare-root fruit trees, such as apple, pear, plum, fig, walnut, apricot, but it is equally ideal for planting bare-root rose or branches from rose and chrysanthemum prunings.
G. We put ashes in our garden to protect our plants from snails.
H. If we have a pond in our garden, we remove fallen logs and stones.
G. Finally, let's remember that Greece is a rich country with many microclimates, which grow according to the existing conditions. So adjust your garden work based on the local vine, if you don't know the local conditions, ask the local gardeners.
