PLOWING OUR WAY THROUGH.
Yesterday Hannah and I finished a massive project, even if it looks amusingly small. We plowed enough area for our potatoes and onions which we'll likely plant some time late next week (weather permitting). When I say we plowed, however, I don't mean that we got out the tractor, put on the plow implement and tore through the soil. Hannah and I flipped the dirt by hand, with the help of a small broad fork and shovel. I've never liked plowing, and especially using tractors - it feels too impersonal - so this has been an exciting alternative. The broad fork is a clever tool that, by slamming its five tines into the ground and leaning all of your weight on the two handles, you can loosen the soil enough to slip a shovel underneath. Once the soil was propped on the shovel, we would flip it by hand.Is this insane? Almost definitely. Will we be able to do our entire garden this way? Probably not. But will it make good potatoes and onions? Let's just say that if it doesn't, we had fun trying. It's a special part of the job, being this involved with the growing process, and we're happy to take on a little extra labor in order to know our land and vegetables are that much better. Yes, we are epically sore today, but in all the best ways. A lot of conventional farmers will get into air conditioned tractors, turn on the radio and go to work. When they're done plowing, they'll seed from the tractor, harvest from the tractor and barely get dirty. For us, what we do is not work: farming is a lifestyle for curious people, not a job. Plowing the dirt by hand is a history lesson, a biology class, a study of geology, a workout and a bad tan all wrapped up into one. We're moving and examining every inch (ok, most inches) of the dirt, pulling out bits of arrowheads and busting open geodes; unearthing ants nests and earth worms and toads––it often feels like our job is to simply remain kids and dig in the dirt. Fine by us. It was hard, it took two days, but we had a great time––your potatoes should tell you all about it.- Jesse.
