Green Things

I got spring fever last week, and in honor of Tu B'Shevat (the Jewish holiday of New Year for the Trees), I planted a bunch of stuff in our vegetable patch. It was filled with tomatoes and beans when we moved in three years ago. The herbs (oregano and basil) have survived my tenure, and we did plant a pepper plant. We have some volunteers as well -- more oregano and some plant that flourishes in Mexico. I don't know the name of it but the yard guy says his sisters used to make tea out of it to stop their menstruation quickly. So, whatever it is, it loves our yard. My husband thinks it looks like the wacky weed.
So I planted tulip bulbs (ok, I bought them to plant last February, but you know about that procrastination problem I have) and I scattered some radish seeds in the organic soil I purchased. I have no idea if the seeds from inside the red bell peppers will grow, but I planted a bunch of them too. For good measure, I threw in some wildflower seeds that came in the mail from our realtor. Now I just have to wait, water and watch.
The good news is something green poked out of the ground yesterday. It's a mystery to see what it is. One important fact about Tu B'Shevat. On the birthday for the trees, each tree becomes one year older. So, if you planted a tree on the day before, the tree becomes one year old. It was an ancient method to allow some consistency in determining the ages of trees, by the number of Tu B'Shevat celebrations in which they participated. Pretty clever -- kind of like the way an extra month was added to the calendar every few years to account for the changes in the lunar calendar.