Today was an unbelievably beautiful and warm January day. With plans of preparing our garden spot, we packed up early and headed to the farm, crew in tow, to make some actual progress. Although it is not a great time for planting seeds, it's a perfectly good time to get your land ready for those seeds. Inspired by people like Masanobu Fukuoka and Bill Mollison, we are trying to employ more "no-till" methods of farming. Most of these ideas involve laying down some sort of mulch and letting the soil till itself underneath. Today that meant basically laying down cardboard...then walking away. The cardboard, when it becomes wet, begins to rot. This decomposes all the debris and plant matter underneath it, while also attracting beneficial microorganisms and especially worms. Over time, it creates a layer of rich, loose topsoil. By letting it over-winter, you have a bed ready just in time for spring––no tractors, machines or tilling and thus no real "impact" on the soil. By helping preserve soil structure and moisture, this is an extremely kind and sustainable style of farming!The first step was fencing off the garden area. Although we don't yet have to worry about critters eating our little plants, we do have a couple of horses who might trot right through our hard work. So we (by we, I mean Jesse) put up some strategic barbed wire, making sure to add bright flags so the horses don't get caught by surprise.
Then, we got to work on the garden. My mom and dad were there to assist, and the help was much appreciated as we cut weeds, moved rocks, and tried to relocate loads of manure in a wheelbarrow with no wheel!
Clearing the weeds.
Digging around, checking the soil.
Taking a break to talk with AUNT ELIN! We love you!
The fruits of our dumpster-diving labor.
An unexpected, mystery guest joins the crew. He seems overly enthusiastic.
Hard working mom, hauling cardboard.
So helpful.
We HAVE been looking for an antique tub....
Moving poo.
Yay! Horse manure!
Oh man, I want to keep this dog.
After laying down the cardboard, we poured water on it, to speed up the decomposition. Then we placed rocks on it to secure it. Then we spread the manure, as an additional compost for the soil.
The final product! We gathered all the weeds we had cleared and added them as a final mulch on top.................................................................................................................
It feels truly amazing to have done some realwork today. Although this was just a start (we need about five times this amount of cardboarded area), it is something! Some actual work to show for all of our stressing and planning! Our interim stay in the city has been a dramatic shift from last years daily physical labor and outdoor life. It was so good to be back on a farm. I am happy today, once again having some aches in my bones, some dirt under my nails, some progress made.
