First, an aside
The recent total solar eclipse generated a lot of new attention
for astrology, which happens to be a hobby of mine. Since it’s essentially the
study of the seasons, I can’t help but to interweave it with
gardening articles on occasion, especially as the sun enters the constellation of Virgo—which
is associated with healing the Earth—where it remains for a month.
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| M R Gardens |
Two years ago, I wrote about Virgo
in the garden, and how if we use Virgo’s tendency to plan out our growing
season and think through next steps, we’re more likely to have a successful
garden. But Virgo is not just about planning — she has a lot of other healing
and grounding attributes that create beauty and bounty. Ever since the
transformational eclipse, my understanding of the planets, specifically Mercury
which is associated with Virgo, is expanding, so while I don’t take back
anything that I wrote two years ago, I’m also recognizing new phenomena arising
which makes planning ahead simply hard to do.
Sometimes the world, and our lives, are
changing so rapidly that planning one week ahead let alone several months in
advance seems nearly impossible. Yet we still are compelled to move forward.
There’s a bottleneck of ideas and to-do’s and dreams, and if we could just get
one car out of the traffic jam, then the rest would flow.
Get unstuck - The garden is waiting for you
M R Gardens’ new on-site “Grow” program is well-suited for
those in the bottleneck – for new gardeners who would really like to get going,
but the details seem so overwhelming that they don’t know where to start. All
that Grow participants need to do is reserve about one afternoon a week and
essentially “show up” at my farm in the Oakley community of Asheville – excited
about gardening and supportive of others learning how to garden. I’m surveying
applicants about the best times to get together, but envision the group meeting
one weekday from 4:00 to 6:30 three times a month, although less than that in
the colder months. We’ll spend between 30 minutes to an hour each class
discussing a new skill, and then we’ll put the discussion into practice by gardening
the remaining of the time.
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| Vegetable garden |
We walk through all the steps entailed in growing vegetables,
and perform tasks multiple times so that new skills sink in and participants can ask questions. Since each crop
has its own needs, participants not only learn how to create the
system but also see how each individual plant is best grown in that system. Students
go home with written information so that if and when they want to try it at
their own home, they have the guidance to do so. In addition, by just being in the
gardens on a regular basis, and becoming inspired by the plants, you begin to
uncover the vision of your own garden. Since you’re moving some of cars out of
the bottleneck, you start to feel your dreams progress.
The Grow program is also well suited for folks who want to
take part in the growing of their own food but don’t own a space that is sunny
or large enough, or even for long-time gardeners who are open to trying out an
ecologically inspired style of gardening that I like to call "Microbe Rich." In some ways, Grow is a miniature
version of a participatory Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) venture,
except with an emphasis on education. In the M R Gardens model, participants get a say in which
vegetables we grow, and we adjust quantities based on the group’s needs. We also have unusual fruits, such as nutritious goumis and chokeberries,
that would not be in a typical CSA box. At the end of each workday, we harvest
any vegetables, flowers and/or herbs that are in season, and you take home just the quantities that you can use.
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| Natives garden |
On this established ecologically designed site, there is
much to learn about — including fruit trees in a holistically maintained
orchard, medicinal herbs, beneficial flowers, native plants and ground covers
in place of grass. Participants can absorb what they are able to take in at the
moment. Or for those who wish to learn a lot in a short amount of time, that
opportunity is here too. Students can make this educational experience into
what they want depending on the amount of independent study they initiate.
Budding ecological horticulturists, who see themselves one
day making an income from gardening, should consider the parallel program, “Emergence.” Participants meet alongside
the “Grow” students, and in addition volunteer at the gardens each week. When
the time is right, Emergence students may start working with M R Gardens
off-site clients. Fees are the same as the Grow program. Read more
here.
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| Owner/Teacher Megan Riley |
More on astrology
The total eclipse was an important one for Virgo. The eclipse happened at the edge of the Leo constellation, just before Virgo starts, and was also in-line with the Regulus, a multi-star system 79 light years away from the sun with a diameter more than three times the sun. For thousands of years (some sources say 2,000; others say 4,000), Regulus was in Leo, but just recently moved into Virgo, where it remains for the next 2 to 4,000 years. Since Regulus symbolizes regality, it could represent leaders in our communities.
The total eclipse was an important one for Virgo. The eclipse happened at the edge of the Leo constellation, just before Virgo starts, and was also in-line with the Regulus, a multi-star system 79 light years away from the sun with a diameter more than three times the sun. For thousands of years (some sources say 2,000; others say 4,000), Regulus was in Leo, but just recently moved into Virgo, where it remains for the next 2 to 4,000 years. Since Regulus symbolizes regality, it could represent leaders in our communities.
When the moon moved in front of our sun August 21, for a
brief moment in time, this regal star system in the constellation of Virgo
could be called our “sun,” and so some astrologers might say, Virgo became
“queen,” yet with the heart of the lion (Leo) backing her. That is fitting as we enter a time of healing the Earth, which Virgos
do best. Those of us who have committed to taking small steps over a long
period of time to hone a craft for the benefit of all are finally starting to
feel a payoff—and how rewarding that payoff feels after so much time spent
honing the craft. Those who feel like they are at the beginning of their Virgo
journey, experiencing a bottleneck from all the details, are rest assured that now
is the time to move forward — to let one car out of the jam, so that the rest
can soon follow.
HOW TO APPLY
To apply for Grow or
Emergence, contact me (Megan) at 828.333.4151 and we’ll set up an
appointment to talk in the gardens. The main requirements are a love for the
work of gardening, a collaborative spirit capable of creating a good learning
environment for others, and an acceptance of others’ backgrounds and beliefs.
References might be checked to ensure students have a proven track record in
group learning environments. This program is mostly suited for students who learn
by doing, but most learning styles are addressed. If you like to share recipes with
fellow students for both food and medicinal herbs, then that’s a bonus! Please
apply as soon as possible. The first payment is due October 20, and we'll meet soon after to start building the soil for next year's garden.
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| Squash garden |
