This and That on a Sunday Morning

Will has been working so hard in (and around) the garden...and it is heartwarming to see that, after a long stretch of very bad gardening weather (about a year and a half) that finally, FINALLY....the garden gods are smiling. Too bad I'm not a turnip fan, because the germination is so good and there will be so many turnips. Also cabbages!

AND, after several years of going without, we have put in strawberries...thank you Tri-Parish Co-op for having them to put aside for us, and thank you Ian for coming pout last week to help put down the plastic and put them in....

behind the strawberries we have very lovely Asian greens (very mild, very elegant).
And then there's the on-going greenhouse experiment..

I'm a big, big fan of this....gardening in a more controlled space. These pictures don't do it justice - when the plants get big (broccoli, cauliflower and the like) all these plants will be touching each other. I predict a thing of beauty.
And now for the randomness.....kershaws on the compost pile, a spider on the tractor - sweet potatoes in the middle of the field....
...and random squash by the house - volunteering awesomness...and squash!

SUCH a Long Time Now.....but we're emerging from our quiet....maybe

2015 was the very worst farming year in this state in my memory. It rained from January to July. We raised the plants in flats - we had already decided to perhaps not to do a CSA last year - we were frankly tired and wanted to re-gear. But Will planted all the flats anyway - and I planted a ridiculous amount of herbs as well. And it would.not.stop.raining. We never got the tractor into the field, or the tiller into the herb beds. Sadly - so sadly- we wound up throwing out all of the plants we started/ There was nothing we could do.

Fast forward to 2016. We still just didn't have it in us to crank up the CSA> We needed a rest. Did that keep us from planting? Why, no! Of course not! It wasn't an easy year - but not as bad as last. We put up corn, we put up tomatoes....I stared at a 70ft row of beautiful Genovese basil that there wasn't anything to do with, really. Dry a bunch - use a bunch - give some away. Most went to waste, if you can call it that.

And then....

remember those hoop houses? The Michelle Obama inspired program through which one can acquire greenhouses and be paid back buy the government? and we have two. And they are long and have been productive off and on - but are difficult in their way.

Will said..." We could get one more. A big one." I said sure! So we did this:

And then we got a couple of chairs and glasses of wine and we sat in there....and then we said..."Now what?"  And then we said...."I Don't Know!"
And then I said...."Dinner in the Greenhouse!"

Just imagine...rows of veggies down each side. Long tables down the middle. White tablecloths. Dinner made from the produce growing right behind your chair!

It is now planted for fall; broccoli - cauliflower, beets, brussel sprouts. Greens are planted elsewhere because you have to have greens.

So Will didn't leave quite enough room in the middle and part of me thinks he did this so I didn't get too antsy about this idea until spring, but mostly this is just the first go-round of the new project.

more later - but for now...we're back