Ayurvedic Living, Sungazing, and a Transition

Our arugula and Italian parsley beds are heavy producers during this cold, wet spring

It’s been raining non-stop for a week now, and the forecast shows relentless rain for the next couple of weeks. This cold, wet spring is bad for vegetable and fruit production and flower gardening in so many ways, but it’s incredibly beneficial for the greens beds, which are now thriving. We’ve been eating fresh arugula for a couple of weeks now, and there’s lots more coming in. The Italian parsley crop has exploded, and suddenly, I’m wondering what to do with all of it. 

Yesterday, I hogged a salad of fresh, young arugula. It was amazing. Red and green lettuces could start being harvested now, as young greens, but I’ll wait a few more weeks to start making big salads.

The basil is not so happy. Basil needs warm, sunny, dry weather to live. Our two big pots of basil are showing signs of soil fungus. I don’t dare sow new seeds in the ground yet, but I have two trays of young basil in a sunny window in the house. The problem is, it’s too cold to set them outside, and inside, they will eventually damp off. The Japanese cucumber seeds are now 4-inch plants, but again, it’s too cold for the outdoors yet, and indoors, they won’t do well much longer.

So here’s today’s gardening joke:

Question: How do you make Mother Nature laugh?

Answer: Tell her your gardening plans.

Weather governs all, and this spring, the weather is dictating that this growing season will be a short and tough one. I’m bummed.

On a happier note, I’m returning in earnest to a lifestyle practice that I was a strict adherent of in graduate school. Ayurveda is the comprehensive nutrition/medicinal system of the Sushruta Samhita, an ancient account of health and medical knowledge, over 2,000 years old, with its origin in India. 

What I’ve always loved about Ayurveda is its spot-on, common sense treatment of human and animal health (yes, with my return to Ayurveda, our dogs are also enjoying some of the ayurvedic lifestyle) that orbits around sound and adequate sleep, moderate exercise, clean nutrition, and meditation.

By re-introducing copper into my diet (by way of a copper thermos, tamba and tamba lota), I’m hoping to correct some of my anemia and balance body energies. I’m also bringing raw milk back into my routine. Ayurveda emphasizes warm, raw milk and fresh cardamom before bed to induce deep, restorative sleep. I’m also enjoying sungazing, and, on cloudy days or mornings when I sleep late, the ancient practice of Trataka.

Live in peace.