Planting has begun!

After what has been one of the wettest springs on record- we are finally in the process of migrating starts from our greenhouse outside and into the raised beds and garden space!

Some of you may have seen or even felt that large orb in the sky the last few days. It left marks on me this weekend after spending good portions of the day in the garden- I always wear my first marks of the sun with pride- even though they do make me a bit sensitive to touch for a day or two following.

Over the past few days Bubba has spent much of his time in the garden and on the tractor. Sunday we finally broke ground in the largest garden plot. First Bubba used the tine harrow to open up the soil that’s been lying below the cover crop we planted last fall. Its like watching a giant comb reach into the earth, rolling back a carpet of soil, dark chocolate brown- still wet from the winter and spring rains. You could see the steam rising from the earth just behind the tines, the sun was so warm that it didn’t take more than a few hours to finish drying out the earth enough to make the first pass with the rototiller. By afternoon, the top section of the garden looked velvety soft. I didn’t want to walk over the top of the newly tilled soil and tarnish the smooth surface with my foot prints.

By yesterday mid-day, Bubba had created the first rows in the garden, planted 200 strawberry starts and was mounding more rows for potatoes. By evening yesterday, all of the potatoes (four varieties, including fingerlings) were tucked into the warm soil and everything had received an initial watering. The kale and the rest of the onion sets would have to wait until tomorrow when the planters had been replenished enough to stoop and crouch over a shovel once more.

The raised beds at the top of the property are already full; peas, lettuces, cabbage, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and onions. All of the starts grown from seed in a greenhouse that is now bursting at the seams. With the warmer weather and soils finally drying out enough to allow us to plant, there will be many days and evenings in the garden until the greenhouse is empty and the garden is full.