13 May 2012
There are worse things than a garden overrun with mint
Nature is very forgiving. There are rules when growing plants, and there are ways to do things to optimize the chance for success in our growing, but Nature will forgive us often if we try.
Our gardens are in quite a state of disrepair at the moment. A far cry from the hope and dream, and even a far cry from what they were a couple of years ago. We just haven't had the time or resources to match our goals. So...make smaller goals for now. Today was the first day this season that I was able to make it out to the herb garden to weed. It's not that it wasn't in desperate need of weeding oh...say..a month ago, but I decided to create new, smaller gardens, just for beauty's sake and start over that way.
A lot of the plants did not survive, and we had the disease problem at the end of last season that never got corrected, but there were a fair amount of plants still striving to thrive and I intended to save what part of them I could. So today I trekked out there, a little apprehensive, but I was pleasantly surprised. A lot of the plants looked healthy. Granted, we still have lost a lot, but a funny thing happened with the early spring weeds...
I love chickweed. It's one of my new favorite plants. I suspected that it was useful in this way last year, but now I'm convinced. Chickweed had completely overrun our garden, especially in the first row of Oregano and Mint. A month ago it looked horribly intertwined with the herbs that were assigned to their spots. Today, however, all the chickweed was dead, brown and dry, having run its life cycle and although the husks were still there, the remaining herbs were green and healthy. So basically it was just a matter of going through and picking out all the dead chickweed. But here's another great thing about chickweed: even when it is still alive, it's very friendly. It grows from a central root, in many different directions, and is easily uprooted when pulled on. So not only can you clear a big section with one tug, but while it's doing its growing and covering and intertwining, no other weeds can grow there. This is key. Our biggest weed problems are from crab grass and Johnson grass. These horrible critters spread and invade and are not at all easy to uproot. But where the chickweed grows, the grasses do not! Calloo Calay!!!
As I knelt in the garden, weeding away today, I was every grateful for the chickweed. If I had cleared it a month ago, I'd be out again now trying to pull out the horrid grasses, but I didn't have time a month ago. I've been trying very hard to do things in tune with the moon signs and cycles and planting new seeds and flowers and things. And I had to have faith that I'd be able to save some of our herbs in due time. I've reread the previous blog entry and realized it's from about a year ago, same time in the season, and very much written in the same tone...Gratitude. For the grace of Nature, for the forgiveness of Nature, for the peace and strength of faith.
20 May 2011
Nature's Grace
Last year the kale got overrun with pests, and I had to forsake it. The garlic for two years now was not planted or harvested at the right time, and so didn't grow right, or grew too much. We made a conscious decision not to grow vegetables this year. We wanted to, we always want to because how wonderful to have fresh, organic veggies, right in your own yard!! But in keeping with the simplification theme, we decided instead of setting ourselves up for failure yet again, we'll just get our veggies from another organic farmer who has more success with that end of things.
But Nature has a grace that provides for us. For me, Nature is God, and the old adage holds true, "do your best, and let God do the rest." So while putting compost around the dill and parsley, some old seeds took root, and we now have a bonus cucumber and tomato plant. Totally out of place, but so welcome just the same. And one of the old kale plants made it through the winter, and sprouted up. It's actually flowering now, which doesn't necessarily bode well for getting much kale, but it's a beautiful plant, and it might just reseed itself. The garlic we planted this year (way wrong time AGAIN) only yielded a few plants, and none of them are looking so hot. BUT, the garlic from previous years is looking pretty darn good, and we just might get garlic after all. And we have two random Maple trees just sprouting up growing along, and hopefully they'll become strong enough that we can transplant them later.
The more time I work at this farming stuff, the more I realize that you should only try to control so much. In truth, we never have any control at all, but we can manage the illusion long enough sometimes to find peace and happiness. It's a balance, however, and sometimes by just letting go, we allow Nature to take over and give us what we really need.
2011
Although we realize the potential harm to "the business" in completely vanishing from our small, but growing customer base at market, we've realized the only way we'll ever possibly get to a place where the farm sustains itself financially is by having it be a beautiful destination. Besides that, we had both degenerated into stressed out misery balls, always worried about market and making stuff to sell (which rarely did anyway!) etc., etc.
Alex has picked up a second job, so she rarely has time at the farm now anyway, while I have (SOOO thankfully) been able to manage Fri-Sat off and every other Sunday. So I have much more time than previously to get stuff done. I will post pics shortly. But that's where we stand. We're definitely making progress, and if nothing else we are both much happier and less stressed. There's still and unbelievably impossible amount of work to do, and no real way to keep the lawn mowed, and a million other little or not-so-little problems...but we have a few beauty spots cropping up, and some plans that excite rather than depress us, so things are looking up. Thank the Goddess. :)
Hopefully there will be more posts now too!
28 May 2010
Lightning as Inspiration
By the time I got home the thunder had started and it was drizzling a little bit. I went and sat on my front porch to watch the show. It was magical, truely. The fireflies lit up the fields and the trees, and the lightning lit up the skies. My cat sat behind me on the table, and we listened to the rumbles and the drop drop drop of the rain. I was being thankful and enjoying the beauty when a HUGE giant streak, shooting out like a tree in all directions brightened the sky SO much that I felt blinded for a second. I smiled and laughed right before a booming CRACK! This made me jump up and run to get inside, calling for the kitty. She was no where to be found, having most likely been scared out of her wits, she had run to hide somewhere. The rain started coming down heavier. As I type the storm is still growling and flashing outside...still seeming to hold something back...but I had an awesome treat this evening and am so grateful for the beauty.