World Naked Gardening Day (WNGD) is an annual international event generally celebrated on the first Saturday of May by gardeners and non-gardeners alike.
The first annual World Naked Gardening Day occurred on September 10, 2005. In 2007, the event date was moved to the first Saturday in May; as of 2018, the event still takes place on the first Saturday in May. In 2018, however, the New Zealand Naturist Federation adopted the last weekend in October as World Naked Gardening Day; this date was deemed better suited to the climate of the Southern Hemisphere.
We started in the garden early today, and it was too cold to celebrate just yet standby! Scout snarled at us for moving about his bedroom too early!
My first chore was to replace our American Flag with a new one; it is nice and shiny and waving proudly in the breeze.
“Wake me up, and I will bite you!!”
The peas are growing right up the new trellis and are halfway to the top already! In another few weeks, the peas & beans will be hanging down ripe for picking.
Mary harvested sweet peas and delivered them next door.
We planted the latest veggies and cleaned out the Fava Beans and Snow Peas. Mary planted more running beans, kale, and marigolds to keep the pests away. She also planted additional lettuce in a semi-shaded area.
Paul attacked the Fava beans; it was time for them to go.
We added seven bags of amendment, including manure, peat moss, and bedding soil. We have many worms in the garden, and I gave them a snack by burying last week’s “garbage” into a hole I dug in the soil. The worms go crazy for garbage and give us a lot of fertilizer and air passageways deep in the ground!
I remember watching two silkworms having a race. They ended in a tie.
The amendments had to be tilled into the soil, so I got the pitchfork and worked it in!
Amendments added.
After tilling, the soil was amazingly fertile and quite dark in color. It needed a good soaking before we begin planting tomorrow. We will plant yellow corn in this area as it is a month into the white corn growing cycle, and we want to eat corn all summer long. We will probably add tomatillos at the far end.
Did You Know? Tomatillos are native to Mexico, where the fruit has been grown for millennia: evidence of tomatillo eating has been documented as early as 900 BCE in the Tehuacán Valley of Mexico. The Aztecs, no strangers to good eating (they are responsible for introducing chocolate, chilies, turkey, and lots of other delicious things to the rest of the world), were likely the first to domesticate the little papery husked fruits, even before tomatoes were first cultivated.
Although tomatillos have never achieved the global culinary reach of other famous Aztec cultivars — tomatoes, chilies, and corn spread like wildfire across the globe almost immediately — tomatillos are still ubiquitous in many modern Mexican dishes.
Wetted down and ready to plant.
His tummy was utterly full of Fava Beans and snap peas. I swear I heard the trash can burp!
His tummy was full!
Mary asked again, was I SURE it was Naken Gardening Day before she partook of the celebration? World Naked Gardening Day (WNGD) was introduced in 2005 as a social movement to discourage body shaming and encourage acceptance of all human body forms. The first Saturday in May has been selected as the annual day for trimming those bushes – in the buff and au naturel.
It is intended as a light-hearted, fun movement to encourage body positivity and the unequivocal love of oneself. It is a message we need more of in today’s world and something we can get behind!
This is an excellent opportunity to add a little extra fun to the regular garden maintenance and feel connected with others doing the same. There is a sense of unity and connection through celebrating this day together, with an understanding of that underlying message of appreciation and love for our bodies just the way we are.
We gave our neighbors a bouquet of sweet peas and a large box of Fava Beans with cooking instructions.
“Are you sure it is Garden Naked Day??”
OK, me first! I must say I had to be careful with the blackberries; they had thorns. That could have been a horrible sight should I have dropped the berries!
Mary was afraid of the dark… then she saw me naked, and now she’s scared of the light.
Considering my age, I am in pretty good shape! Round is a shape, correct?
I was thorny! (Spelled with a “t”)
Mary’s new best friends were the sweet peas. I wanted to yell, “SNAKE,” but decided I wanted to live another day. I had a visual of MAry running naked toward the patio door screaming her head off; I made a good choice1
After the camera was safely put away, we gardened for another half-hour, carefully avoiding sunburn in areas that should not be sunburnt!
Mary said, “You always know when I’m ready for sex, ’cause naked, Paul looks like one of them butterball turkeys with the little pop-up timer.”
Well, hidden!
Mary got her camera going again and took many shots of your truly, some NOT so flattering. I found out that Gardening Naked Day is not a time to plant roses or cacti.
She kept yelling, “Hands up!” but I did not fall for that old trick!
Me, not so much!
Best Reasons Why To Go To Work Naked:
1. Your boss is always yelling, “I wanna see your ass in here by 8:00!”
2. Inventive way to finally meet that special person in Human Resources.
3. “I’d love to chip in, but I left my wallet in my pants.”
4. People stop stealing your pens after they’ve seen where you keep them.
5. No one ever steals your chair.
OK, the south forty is complete, and now we attack the vertical garden!
Up goes vertical tower #2
All parts were ready to go together! The kit is from a company in Tennessee and is well-made; it should last for years. Mary planted edible flowers in this tower, which is also right out the kitchen door and next to the hydrant.
Vertical Garden #2 is on the way!
It came together quickly the second time. The top of the tower receives the water and any liquid nutrients you care to add. The water trickles down all five layers, getting every plant moise but not drowned. Excess water comes out the bottom and is directed into the grass via a plastic hose.
Ready for the water.
Once water was added, the tower was stable and quite heavy. It will not fall over unless hit by a Greyhound Bus!
Tower #2 complete
Mary wandered around taking photos of the garden and stumbled upon this bright red flower given to us by one of the Rondaliers members.
Red!!
Time for a beer. Bob Z asked, “Is the Miracle Grow used only for vegetables?” I did not reply; for me to know and him to find out!
Time for a beer!
We got cleaned up after a short nap and a delightful dinner. We are visiting the Southcoast Repertory Theather tonight to see “Avaaz.”
Summary: Meet Roya, our fabulous hostess, as she welcomes you into her home to celebrate Nowruz, the Iranian New Year. She’s preparing a feast, but the main attraction is Roya sharing her incredible American journey from Tehran to “Tehran-Angeles,” California. Get ready for the time of your life with this hilarious and deeply personal tribute to the playwright’s mother, deliciously portrayed by the person who knows her best—her son. Traditions, humor, and passionate storytelling transform this tale of family bonds into an unforgettable theatre event!
We were home by 10:00 pm and crashed; it was a long day! We watched Otto with ZTom Hanks, a good movie! Summary: When a lively young family moves in next door, grumpy widower Otto Anderson meets his match in a quick-witted, pregnant woman named Marisol, leading to an unlikely friendship that turns his world upside down.
