SPRING (!?) IS IN THE AIR.
The weather, as I am sure you are aware, has been crazy lately. Spring (and SUMMER) like temperatures, trees and flowers blooming, everything growing much faster than we would perhaps like! We spent yesterday outside, setting out broccoli and cabbage transplants to make room in our crowded greenhouse. It is hard not to get ahead of ourselves when it is this warm - hard to remember that we could still have winter weather around the corner. Luckily, brassicas are pretty hardy, and just in case, we covered them up with row cover to protect them from cold and the inevitable cabbage moths.While we worked, I couldn't help but reflect on some of the words we had heard over the weekend from Wendell Berry, at the Organic Association of Kentucky conference. He had spoken about the "human" element in farming. How farming cannot become just an industry, or technology will replace farmers. If farming is first and foremost an art, then there must be humanity in it. Good farming is aesthetically pleasing and beautiful - a place where there is a balance between the product you are creating and the homeplace. As I kneeled beside my husband with my hands in the dirt, as Further played on top of the compost pile a few feet away, as we let the sun and cool air refresh our overwintered skin - I felt the truth of those words. Yes, we are creating a product. We are making money, trying to become more efficient and knowledgeable so we can do better always. But we are also building a family and a home and a life. And we are ready for another season, even if spring seems to have come a little earlier than we might have hoped!-Hannah.
SETTING OUT FALL TRANSPLANTS.
Last week, while Jesse was recovering from his porch tumble, Cher and Eric and I set out a thousand (literally!) of transplants for the fall garden....lettuce, celery, leeks, cauliflower. It is SO exciting to start thinking about the fall garden - cooler weather, abundant greens, all in all, a much EASIER time of year for us. Eric direct seeded several more rows of carrots and kale, and we started cabbage and pac choi and collards in soil blocks. The butternut squash and sweet potatoes are coming along nicely, and all these chilly nights we've been having have me a bit impatient for FALL!- Hannah.
BUSYNESS AS USUAL.
These last few days have been pretty dirty, but pretty productive! Along with the potatoes, shelling peas and onions, we've had a chance to go ahead and transplant our broccoli, kale and chard. So now when you look down at our rows you can see the makings of a real life (and presently real busy) garden. There's much still to do, but it's nice to know that there's also much that's already been done. We're starting to feel caught up, which is not easy when it feels like April, or sometimes even June, outside... but we feel good! Having gotten those crucial things in the ground we can get back to concentrating on preparing the garden, starting soil blocks and taking care of our baby tomato plants.- Jesse.
