A call to garden...

John Michael Greer (whose blog is consistently excellent and on my short-list of must reads each week) has posted a "call to garden" of sorts, positing the once common but now lost concept of backyard gardening as a valuable tool to insulate families and individuals from economic shocks.

As this is a central concept to the life I'm trying so hard to build, I thought it was well worth a link.

First veggie picked!

Weekend update in progress, but in the meantime, here's a video of a very exciting moment today...

Managing Alternative Pollinators... free PDF

With honeybees (sadly) seemingly in decline, it will be ever-important going forward for us to be able to manage other kinds of pollinating insects to keep the food supply on-line.

An informational book on this very topic has just been released, and you can download it here for free.

Happy pollinating!

Galaxy Peach tree...

Managed to get home in time to plant a Galaxy Peach tree from Park Seed Co. before it started raining buckets. It's a smaller tree, so I put it near the house.

My Wheel Horse is my real horse...

My folks showed up to help out around the farm this Sunday, which was great because it means I got to see my mom on Mother's Day. My dad brought my new (to me) tractor with him, a 1975 Wheel Horse B-80 that I purchased down in Cincinnati. She's been lovingly maintained by an older gentleman who loves Wheel Horse tractors more than almost anything, and she got her trial by fire here on Sunday as we mowed almost the entire property, including some parts that would have been more appropriately approached with a machete or flamethrower. Oh, if my crops grew like my weeds...

I was fortunate enough to find another B-80 down in Cincinnati for the paltry sum of $25. While it doesn't run at the moment, it did come with a snow blade, and I figure if I can't get it running I can just use it as a parts machine. Hell, for $25, I can set it out in the yard as decoration.



Flashy Trout's Back romaine.


Amish Deer Tongue lettuce.


Bloomsdale Long Standing spinach.


Tall Telephone peas, finding the fence.



Recent rains and diligent watering have got my greens beds looking like somebody pressed the fast-forward button. The black mustard (seen directly above) has coalesced into one big square patch, and the other lettuce beds will hopefully fill out as some later seedings come into play.

Took some time to plant some Fernleaf Dill and Spearmint in the kind of lousy soil right behind the house, and some Basil and other herbs in largish containers by the driveway. Also seeded some more small lettuce beds to get some variety in the coming Summer's salads.



While I'm probably already behind on this, I've started planting out some beans. Seen here are Blue Lake Bush 274, Contender, Broad Windsor (Fava), Hutterite Soup, and Jacob's Cattle beans being soaked before planting. Bush beans fill up garden beds fast, and I'm already wishing I'd sheet mulched more of the grass last fall. Maybe I'll get a head start and do some more this summer so they have a better chance of breaking down by next season's planting time.


Jacob's Cattle beans. So pretty!

New equipment!

The sky has been threatening rain something fierce for the past 24 hours, and yet so far, not a drop, despite the wind. I keep not watering, assuming it will surely rain soon. So far, no dice.

The roto-tiller is being returned to it's true owner for a while, so I took an opportunity this morning to till up the remaining garden beds around the house that I sheet mulched in the fall. I now wish I had done more, as I'll probably run out of space. I suppose if I get super-desperate I can start digging up sod by hand, but man... what a chore.

I'm getting two new pieces of equipment tomorrow... a 1975 Wheel Horse tractor and a small trailer that looks like a cow. Pictures when they arrive. :-)

Wrap-up: first weekend of May...

Had to postpone the much-anticipated farmwarming party this weekend due to promises of constant thunderstorms. Having done so, what rain we got was decidedly light and spotty (of course), but it was enough to keep the garden beds and trees wet, at least.

Had kind of a lazy weekend, but still managed to plant: 1 red currant (Jonker Von Tets), 1 apple tree (Braestar), 1 cherry tree (Emperor Francis), and 2 european pear trees (Bosc and Bartlett), 4 rows of sweet potato slips totalling just less than 100 plants (Nancy Hall, Covington, Boureguard, and Georgia Jets). Have some more trees on the way, and may well have more after that if Raintree keeps putting hardy fruit trees on clearance.

The lettuce and greens in the front beds are finally starting to look like little baby lettuces (thanks in no small part to some very diligent hand-weeding by April), and I am pleased to report that the black mustard greens taste good indeed.

Also washed the dog, who is now running around the house, sharing her newfound relative moisture with all that she comes into contact with... mostly me, April, and the couch.

Also proud to report that my newly authentic farmer's tan is strongly in effect, despite it being only the earliest of May. :-)