Camomile

Ten yards of compost has been moved and incorporated into planting beds. Ten yards, moved one shovelful, one wheelbarrow full, one raised bed at a time. Not moved once, but three times. Once from the pile into the wheelbarrow, then grunt labor moving the wheelbarrow to the raised bed and finally incorporated the moved compost into the existing soil. So what's the next logical step after breaking your back one shovelful of compost at a time? Another truckload of compost, of course. Since the compost arrived Saturday morning and it was rainy and windy in Rhode Island, I wasn't about to do this crummy job in whipping rain. So, I set out on some errands.

My number one mission was to get some cammomile seed. Now, cammomile is a prolific reproducer. Even though it is an annual, it will readily reseed itself for the next year. Anyone who has planted cammomile knows this. But, I wanted to expand the number of cammomile plants I currently have. In addition, I did a lot of work on the herb garden where the cammomile has resided in the past and was concerned that it may not come up again this year. So, I set out looking for camomile.

I haven't been to Seven Arrows Farm in a few years. Now that we live in southern RI, it is quite a hike to Attleboro. Yesterday, I had nothing but time so I made the trek. Seven Arrows has expanded their offerings quite a bit from when they started as an herb farm. They have a full line of perennials and veggie starts and feature bamboo. They also have a tea room with scones and other snacks for sale. I bought some heirloom veggies and dill seed but couldn't find any camomile seed. I asked Judy and she said they didn't have any seed but that I should check out their old seed bin.

Judy took me upstairs to a cute converted attic. She said it is an open meditation space (the hammock looked comfy!). Then, she pulled a big box out from under a table and said "Have a look and take whatever you want. The seeds are old, but they're fine." I knew Judy was right about old seeds. I have used extra one and two year old seed at One Love Farm, and although they don't germinate at the same rate as new seed, they do just fine. Archeologists know old seed works, too. When excavated South American Indian burial sites, they found unpopped popcorn kernals. Some of these kernals were thousands of years old. When the archeologists heated the kernals, they popped!

Finding camomile seeds was going to be a challenge though. There were literally hundreds of seed packets in this box. Some were held together with rubber bands, while others were separated in sets in paper bags. I started the search. Leeks, carrots, snapdragons. Nope, nope, nope. Leeks, peppers, marigolds. I'm planting marigolds with my tomatoes to supress pests, so I'm keeping that packet. Leeks, lettuce, beans. Why so many leeks seeds? I've been looking for quite a while and am ready to give up when I hit the jackpot, Camomile!

By the time I get home the storm has passed and while still very windy, the sun it out and it is warm outside. So, I have a decision to make. I can start moving compost (now wet compost) or plant my new dill and camomile seeds. Not much of a decision really. I prep the herb bed where I want to plant my new seeds. Near the sage (which has over wintered marvaously, by the way). The seeds are planted and watered in. Now I wait for the flush of dill and camomile this summer!