So here we sit, watching Meet the Press, laptops open, catching up on email and the news (and, in my case, this blog) before heading outside to plant potatoes. It is SPRING and that means we spent every free moment with our hands in the dirt.
I’ve been mostly working on flowers. Bob tilled up a 5-foot wide, 200-foot long garden along the road. (For the record, I asked for a “little” more space but the tiller does 5 feet swatches and once he got started…) Part of it will become the butterfly/hummingbird garden I’ve always wanted. I have boxes of seed mixes as well as jars, bags and bottles of seeds we have saved over the years: purple columbine, rose campion, and marigolds galore. Even if only half of them germinate it should be pretty spectacular. At least a girl can hope!
And Spring is all about hope. Seedings thriving in the sunroom, fresh dirt turning under the tractor, lovely warm days stretching into evening as each day adds a few more minutes of light. Other work gets pushed into the corners of the day as we take advantage of nice weather.
There are peas up down by the road. We never got a great crop in the burg but this one looks promising. We may be able to pick some for salads and stir fries. Bob is working on transplanting lettuce to the area that will be protected by the greenhouse. This may be our first cash crop as we have enough to feed at least a few other people.
I’m planning to freeze kale this afternoon as the crop is starting to go to seed, the mustard greens having already succumbed earlier this week. We have been eating kale almost every day for a week. I roasted it with potatoes, garlic and onion, made a fresh kale salad for dinner last night and added it to this morning’s frittata along with last night’s leftover potatoes. We sent our house guests home with a big bag.
Painting the bee hives is also on the list. Bob’s going to work on putting them together while I pick kale.
And so another Sunday begins on the farm…if you’re in the area, stop by. We’ll put you to work 😉