There are worse things than a garden overrun with mint

A friend of mine once analogized Jesus/God to Nature.  Among the examples of comparison were the providing for our needs and the unending forgiveness.

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.

Nature's Grace

One of my favorite things about gardening is the little surprises that Nature gives us. The end of the seasons so far have come way too quickly, and we never have time to finish any harvesting or preparing for winter or all the other things that need to get done. But things that so regretfully have to be cut at their losses at the end of one year, often turn around and become free bonuses in the next...

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

This year on the farm we've decided to step back a bit. As is evident in the total lack of posts since last year, we've been a little overwhelmed thus far. Last season was a tough one, but at the end we made a decision to take a few steps back. We decided that for this year we would not go to the farmer's markets and festivals, and instead spend our precious time focusing on doing actual work here on the farm to get it looking more like it does in the dream.

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!

Lightning as Inspiration

I love lightning. On the way home from work there was a lightning storm brewing in the distance. I figured I'd be driving right into it, and I pretty much was. Only..it was huge, and everywhere...but it was strange because there was no thunder. It was just beautiful flashes of light...and then there were the cool streak lightnings, and some of them branched out in all different directions... Usually in a thunderstorm, you only get to catch a few of the really cool streaks...but this storm was so big and slow moving...and quiet...Right in front of me at least a dozen times there were HUGE streaks shooting all over the sky. I kept trying to pull over and watch, but didn't want to cause an accident, so I kept driving, but slowly..all the while watching the sky, my eyes darting back and forth waiting for the next flash. There were streaks to my left, my right, and some right above the car. As I neared the river there was a strip of woods and amidst the lightning flashes, against the dark trees there were hundreds of lightning BUGS just dancing and blinking and it was soo beautiful! I did pull over one time, when I reached the bridge over the river....but I didn't see any cool streaks, so I finally started moving and then I saw one...right over the river. At one point as I was driving this curve in the road a huge streak started to my left then shot all across the sky and kept going in front of me! I just kept saying out loud "ooo" and giggling to myself giddily.

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.

just checkin in

So Alex and I swear we'll start writing on a regular basis...and I know I def. need to...but in the mean time..things here are crazy but good. Way too much work to do and never enough time...Anyone have some free time to help plant???

Bi-polarity

My nature is very dualistic. Besides being a gardener, until the farm can support itself...I am also a massage therapist and a bartender. On Mondays and Tuesdays I do 3 hours of massage before going to my full time bartending job at night. People are often surprised that I would have two very seemingly different means of employment. But to me they are not so different. I actually really do love people, after all. I love their stories, I love their surprises. At times I do not love them, but in that I love the contrast too. I am a very spiritual person, but I also LOVE to dance. Two of my favorite music groups/singers are Metallica and Enya. I love beer, and wine, and going out to bars, and parties, but I don't do illegal drugs. But back to the employment....in both these professions I connect with people and help them relax...sometimes, if I may be so bold as to say, I can help them heal, at least in some small fashion. That's what I love. But I would get bored only doing massage, and although I might not be bored, only doing bartending would not be good for me. I need the grounding, the reminder that I get from massage. Gardening does that too for me, helps me stay connected. That's so important. I always go back to this idea I've had for years and years that the disentegration of community is causing most of society's ailments. Our society has become a bunch of boxes in a lot of ways and if you don't fit into them sometimes it's hard to find a community. Alex is convinced that is where modern religion has gone terribly wrong. Disconnecting from the natural world. Nature is where it's at, people! Anyway...I'm trying to get Alex to do some posts on this site, since it's her farm too...so I'm going to start differentiating when I write...this is Sherry...that's all for now. :)

7 April 2010

Today I noticed the bleeding hearts are in bloom.

When a neighbor knocks on the door, you never expect them to say they just killed your dog.


Death has a way of cutting in line, demanding attention before any and all of our other little notions about what the day will bring.

To Prune or not to Prune

So Spring is here now, and all of our babies are waking up from their winter nap to a beautiful season. We're trying to make up for last year's mistakes and get a head start this year so we won't fall too far behind. The Lavender garden is a big project. Alex and I went out there the other day, clippers in hand, ready to rescue our dying plants. The weeds did a number on them last year, and lots of our beautiful babies were half-killed by the evil crabgrass. The Lavenders look woody and dried out, but most of them have new green growth at the very end of the old dead stuff. So she starts cutting away, snip, snip, snip, "giving them a haircut" she likes to think of it as. But me? Oh....the horror. I have a real problem with pruning in general, not to mention pruning out of season. I am so afraid that I am going to cut in the wrong spot, or too much, or not enough. I'm so afraid that I'm going to kill the very thing I love.

I panic and Alex comes over to give advice, "cut about a third, and try to leave some new shoots if you can." So I go back at it, dismayed face, telling the Lavender, and reassuring myself...."she said a third, that's the rule." It's an unreasonably stressful thing for me. I feel on the verge of tears, and have to keep taking deep breaths. Alex says, "you really have to be okay with this, it's kind of an essential part of being a gardener." I know. I know...but I feel like I'm hurting myself when I cut off all this beautiful new growth.

I feel like this plant tried so hard to survive for us last year, despite our incompetence, and the fight with the weeds, and it survived. And instead of being grateful, and happy for it, here I come along and cut it down again. But we have to. If we let it continue, it's just going to get gangly, and ugly, and not very healthy. We know pruning now might hurt the plants. Some of them hardly have any new shoots at all, but if we don't try, we're not going to be able to keep them anyway. It's a risk, and it's our fault that they are like this, and I guess that's what feels so bad. I just have to learn to forgive myself, and pray that the little bit of life left in the Lavender can forgive me too.

Tax Seasoning

So the winter is generally a quieter time. Birds migrate south, plants go dormant, animals hibernate, people stay inside by the fire... Um...well... ideally that may be the case, and in some ways, still, yes. But reality is that human life doesn't much take notice of the seasons anymore, and our jobs still want us to show up everyday, the bills still come, and life still presents us with seemingly millions of things to do and no time to do them in.

Case in point: This year we have gotten unusually high amounts of snow. It happened that because we live far, far away from our night jobs and Virginians are generally unprepared for anymore than 3 inches of snow, we got to spend a couple of weekends snowbound in the house, with no obligation, or desire to go elsewhere. Those weekends were a godsend because it gave us time where we couldn't leave the house so we had to spend time cleaning and organizing everything for the spring...which always seems to come sooner than it should. I made a comment that first weekend..."this is great, all we need now is about 5 more snow-weekends and we'll have everything together!" Be careful what you wish for.

Alex is pretty much back to work as normal. For me, however, the snow took my request seriously and weighed down on the roof of the bowling alley I now bartend at until it twisted some support beams. I have been out of work for a week and a half and still have about 2 weeks left to go (if I'm lucky.) So that's that.

But with all this time off, you'd think I'd have written a novel, mastered the guitar, or at least gotten the house clean and organized. No such luck. Funny thing about time, the more you have, the more you seem to waste. Ah well, we are getting back on track finally and I have started being more productive.

Something I've allowed myself the luxury of doing during my "vacation" is to cook. Cooking for Alex and I is always an adventure. Food usually ends up splattered somewhere, someone usually gets hurt, and there are lots of sound effects (like "Oops, Sh**, Uh...," or general yelling of orders and explatives.) A while ago I received a pressure cooker as a gift. This is something I was excited about because I love Indian food and all my Indian friends assure me that a pressure cooker is essential. When I pulled it out to use for the very first time today Alex asked, "Who would get you a dangerous piece of cooking equipment?" Good question. I answered, "My Uncle Eric. Because he loves me." And that's the truth.

More on cooking Dal by pressure later....

Realignment

Rainy day here on the farm...not much getting done. Why do rainy days make us so lazy??
Since the mysterious thief of the PotLuckHerbs blog name was actually my very good friend, we're flipping over from potluckherbfarm.blogspot to just potluckherbs.blogspot. I'm hoping this won't be too much of an inconvenience to the two followers we have already....thanks Jen and Angela for your support!!

WELCOME!

So today begins the official chronicles of two Long Island Ladies who decided to pick up and follow a dream down south to the heart of Virginia. Here we have been for 3 years now growing our herb farm. With little more than some backyard gardening knowledge and a love for nature and the outdoors, (despite severe asthma and allergies!) we have sacrificed the traditional route, comfort, security, and at times love to pursue our dream. A dream that will be realized when we can finally quit our nighttime serving jobs and run our successful herb farm full-time. Growing, planting, harvesting, teaching, making crafts, hosting events and bringing something wonderful to the world - these are just some of our goals in hard times, struggling against a failing economy, and our own great need for sleep!

Come join our journey!

The thief of pot luck herbs

Hello. Today I begin a blog of Pot Luck Herbs...there is someone who has taken the potluckherbs name and started a blog of his own...although nothing is posted...I'd like to discuss this with said unknown person....