ALL IN A DAY'S WORK.
With what we thought were to be a couple weeks to prepare beds for the strawberry and asparagus plants we'd ordered, Hannah and I were content to take our time and do things right. Slowly and carefully we had plans to plow and till spots for them, garnish them with natural amenities and have them nice and ready for these two perennial crops. When they arrived on Tuesday, however, about a week and a half earlier than we'd expected, our pace exchanged its calm for urgency. We had almost nothing ready for them yet –– and our esteemed guests were early and starving. We didn't want the plants sitting in the fridge for too long and there was an indefinite amount of rain coming––who knows when the next opportunity to get into the garden would be! So we got to work plowing and hand-tilling––as hard and insane as it sounds––and building a 16'x4' raised bed for the asparagus then filling it with soil and compost. It was a little bit of madness, or a lot of bit if you're human, but we were absolutely pleased with the results. If we worked this way all the time we would accomplish unprecedented amounts of gardening, then effectively pass away in six days. But we did it, and we're taking today off, and although the proverbial (and literal) fruits of our labor will not be seen until next season, we have confidence the strawberries and asparagus will reward us (and our shareholders) kindly!Among our other projects this week was the planting of blackberry, raspberry and black raspberry plants. Clearly, a lot of fruit has gone into the ground this week, one thing we'd really like to add and emphasize in our CSA in the coming years. (Next up on the fruit list should be blueberries!). Also, we were having a little trouble keeping our lettuce from "damping off" in the cold-frame, or dying from excessive water, so we had to go ahead and transplant them. They look happier out in the field anyway. Peas are up, potato plants are pushing through the soil, sweet potatoes are in their slip bed, onions are looking good... ladies and gentlemen, things. are. growing.- Jesse.
