DACHA TALES

The next Sunday we drove over to Siversk to visit the market. Sales people from the whole region came there. When I saw the saplings of fruit trees, berry bushes and flower seedlings I was beside myself with joy. I went up to an old man who was selling onions, garlic and some unfamiliar seedlings for planting. Among the sales people, he was the only male. And it seemed to me that on his stand he had set out a cornucopia of plants, if only you knew what to do with them. “Tell me please, when should I plant all of this in the ground?” I asked. “It all depends on which plants exactly.” He pushed to one side his light-colored hat with wide brim that hid his face from the sun and began to choose small seed onions and knobs of garlic. I pointed to the garlic, because it was one of the few items that I could identify with certainty. The man smiled and looked at his neighbors who were watching me. “This one?” he laughed. “I am selling it for planting before winter. You have to wait some time. Look at this.” He gave me one knob and began to explain indulgently: “You release the separate cloves. And from each clove next year you will get such a head in June. In one year.” “The garlic remains under the snow all winter?” “Of course. That’s the way you have to plant it.” “You don’t cover it with something?” “That’s not the main thing. You have to follow the position of the planets. Otherwise, nothing will happen.” This was not the first time that I had heard about the planets, the solar system and heavenly movements. Did the peasants observe the heavens formerly as well? And how could they see the planets in our overcast northern skies? I put the knob of garlic back on the stand. “It’s too complicated. In the autumn I will come to you for instruction.” “Better if you come to my wife. She’s sitting over there selling saplings.” He pointed to a heavy-set woman sitting some distance away and busily conversing with a customer. She also was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, but she took it off when she spoke and showed a sun-tanned face with round red cheeks and small eyes. “But keep in mind,” the man continued, “if the planets turn their back on you, then not much will grow.” Other sales people silently listened to our conversation, evidently enjoying my ignorance. They did not intervene. “You are teasing me,” I said and walked away without buying anything. Strolling among the stands, I intentionally avoided him and his wife. When I came to the end of the rows of vendors, I spotted a display of saplings. On each young tree there was a band with the name of the variety and the price. There were cherries, pears, plums, hazelnuts, apples. I wanted to buy everything and even forgot how much work each planting entailed. In my excitement, I could think only of my future flowering and fruit-bearing orchard. While I was choosing trees, the salesman came up to me. He explained that these trees were brought from a nursery 40 kilometers away from Siversk. I pointed to an Antonovka apple tree, two plums and two cherry trees. “These,” I said. “We will plant them later today.” “You can buy them today, but better to plant them on female days of the week.” The young man looked at me, but was not about to hand over the trees. I was struck. Here again I was meeting with extravagant folk theories of planting. “You have to plant all trees and bushes, generally everything vegetal on women’s days.” He raised his arms in resignation. “What can you do? That is the nature of child birth. This means on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. But never on Thursdays or Mondays.” I was wondering whether he would sell me the saplings or not. “What about today? Sunday?” “Sunday is neutral. You can try. What does this matter for me? I will sell you everything, but listen to my advice. I see that you are an inexperienced gardener. If you began planting on Saturday, you can finish the job on Sunday. That is not too bad. And pay attention to the moon. You must act in accordance with the waning or full moon. This is not something I thought up. It is folk wisdom. It is fine that you are buying a pair of cherry trees. In that way they will cross pollinate. Otherwise there will be no fruit.” As before, the man stood still. “Our neighbors have cherries, plums and pears,” I said. “All are very close to the fence.” “So they will do well. But only if you have no hares coming to visit. They really like cherry trees.” “I haven’t seen any hares in the village.” Gradually our conversation moved on to another plane. He walked around his saplings and invited me to accompany him. “Look. As you see, buds have already appeared on the apple tree. There will be flowers, and, as they say, there will be fruit. But in the first year, you have to nip the flowers, just leaving two or three, not more. The tree is young and you should not put too much stress on it. Then in the next year it will pay you back.” I smiled, nodded my head in agreement and promised to follow his advice. He brought forward several cherries, then plums. “Look. They are healthy, have not been damaged or been attacked by any insects or illness. But I suggest that you whiten the trunks. That will keep away hares.” “We have no hares in our village,” I said again. “But we are located 200 meters from a forest. The hares come and visit us. They eat fruit tree bark. Not just any trees, though. They choose certain varieties of apples that they like more. What can one say? The hares also have to live. Anyway, whitening also protects trees against insects, and prevents the bark from splitting or getting too hot in the sun.”