Gardening
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Gardening is at a standstill because of all the rain. It’s mud out there. We’re glad to have our potatoes and onions in, but quite anxious to plant the beets.
A few days ago it was almost dry enough. I worked up a little ground and planted a row of lettuce, and then decided to wait. A fistful of soil, dropped, did not break apart. So, the beet seeds are still in the house, and it’s rained ever since.
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We are tearing out the floor in the old garage in town. The building would make a nice place to offer produce to the public, if it was a nice place. As it’s raining outside, working indoors makes sense.
It looks like we’ll have to get both buildings and start a new. There is no way to repair the existing floors and get them level. Besides, mold is an issue from years of a leaky roof.
Behind the buildings a brush pile has been burned and buried, and the junk piles have been hauled off. A leaning tree needs to be dealt with before it falls in to the shop, and a few more trees will be thinned out.
It’s a pretty piece of land. We planted a few fruit trees, including apple, pears, and cherry trees. A composted garden spot was going to be potatoes, but it’s getting a little late in the season. If I thought deer wouldn’t be a problem, we could grow vegetables there.
If anyone needs a little compost for their flowers or tomatoes, there is a nice pile in the front. I have to worn you that it will sprout thorn weeds, so be prepared to hoe diligently. Although rotted manure builds good garden soil, it has lots of weed seeds.
The brick-faced building used to be a restaurant. I’d love to here stories about it. I don’t know if opening a restaurant there is a good idea or not.
In this era of giant corporations, small businesses suffer. Thomas Jefferson believed democracy could only survive in a nation of small businesses and small farmers. I am uncomfortable in the direction I see our local agriculture going.
Maybe if it dries up and I can get back in the garden I’ll feel a little better. I love to grow stuff, to touch the soil and tend to plants. A small farmer will spread wealth locally, be neighborly, and care for the earth much better than a large corporation does.