All stop! Planting is on hold! The National Weather Service is predicting cold nights and a wintry mix over the next several days. In 2016 and 2017, March was mild and frosts were few. By this time, our first vegetables were already soaking up the sun and growing. It will not be that way this year.
The 1st Asparagus Shoot – Seeking Sunshine
Here at Serendipity Farmhouse, we work with the weather. We let it set the pace and sound the rhythm. Spring is here and there will be planting – when the time is right. There will be disappointments and there will be unexpected surprises. And, when we least expect it, there will be serendipity.
Of course we are seeking sunshine and the perfect day to plant. We wait patiently through the cold days with hope and confidence. And we are not alone. On Easter, the first shoot from our asparagus plants had poked its way into the light. Today, another came to join it. They are seeking sunshine and they will not be deterred.
True, the National Weather Service is predicting cold nights and a wintry mix over the next several days. Yet, as with our first two asparagus shoots, we here at Serendipity Farmhouse are seeking sunshine – and it will come.
We make a schedule. We have every good intention of keeping to the plan. My dear, sweet spouse reminds me of the schedule and the plan. What’s the plan? Move the dirt. What’s the schedule? Move it now.
Well, Winter Storm Riley, however, proved Robert Burns right once again: “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley.” Our plan did not include half a day without electricity, two trees down, and our highly envied vineyard flattened.
Ah, but Monday, March 5th, D-Day +5, was a beautiful day – bright sunshine, moderate breeze, and temperatures perfect for moving dirt. After two and a half days at the mercy of the storm, this bright new day, this first full day of semi-retirement, would be a day for moving dirt. (This, of course, could not begin until several other chores were completed.)
Shovel in hand, wagon pulled behind me, I was off to begin the task. Where was beautiful spouse? Dear readers, not every man has the rare joy of having a personal cheerleader and photographer such as I have.
So, we will present two pictures of the dirt to be moved and the man with the “dirt moving skills” to move it. Now, I must inform you that there is only one picture of yours truly because my personal photographer was using the wide angle lens and got a little too close to her subject. You’ve heard of the people who take selfies and complain that their noses look too big. Well, in this case, something else looked too big. (Those pictures are now deleted memories.)
So it was on D-Day +5. The Serendipity Farmhouse 2018 planting season draws nigh and we are back to our plan and back on schedule.
As of February 28th, we were still dirt poor. (See SFH Plantings 2018-02: Dirt Poor) In fact, after I filled out the check and gave it to the truck driver, we were even poorer. Yes, that was D-Day (Dirt Day). We are now the proud owners of three cubic yards of genuine Rappahannock County top soil – or, at least that’s what they said it was. At least it’s not store-bought expensive dirt, yuppie dirt, or millionaire’s dirt – just good old Rappahannock dirt.
So there it is waiting to be moved. But ….. – The National Weather service is now predicting:
////* WINDS…Northwest 25 to 40 mph with gusts around 60 to 70 mph. The strongest winds are expected to occur Friday morning.///
This forecast gives a whole new meaning to “dirt poor”. Where will our dirt be after the wind has died down?
That’s the major reason why we have garden boxes instead of tidy furrows in the traditional manner. Until, we can afford an investment in an array of power tools, we couldn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the open areas in our yard.
Oh, we have great soil, but it is randomly distributed among rocks, roots, and drainage ditches. It’s just not where we need it and there’s not enough of it.
It’s worthwhile saying, the concept of box gardening is not foreign to us. For several reasons, mostly associated with matters of convenience, we have learned that it is a great way to garden. It takes a lot less work to weed and cultivate in a box garden than in a traditional garden.
Another reason why box gardening appeals to us is because we took a short course on the subject at a nursery in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The course was based on the book All New Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew. No, we never had a box garden in Idaho because the ever present wind would have blown everything in the boxes to Wyoming or Montana. One of the things worse than being “dirt poor” is being “wind rich”.
Recognizing that we’re dirt poor at Serendipity Farmhouse, we set up our first two boxes with the beginning of planting season in 2015. The next step, of course, is filling the boxes with dirt. Nope, not yet! Remember, we’re dirt poor. We had to go buy dirt to fill the boxes.
Now, here we step into the world of “dirt cheap“. Don’t believe it! Dirt costs money and not all dirt is the same – or at least the prices aren’t the same. In the view of most establishments selling dirt there are three types of dirt – expensive dirt, yuppie dirt, and millionaire’s dirt.
In 2015, we went with yuppie dirt and had moderately good results. In 2016, my “inner cheap” told me to go with the lowest priced “expensive dirt”. In spite of cautioning words from my beautiful spouse, I bought many bags of the “bottom-of-the-line” dirt.
You guessed it. Both 2016 and 2017 I paid the price for falling into the trap laid by my “inner cheap”. There were stones in that dirt; there was gravel in that dirt; and apparently there was disease in that dirt. My “inner cheap” killed more than one beautiful tomato plant. Oh, jalapenos and okra are hardy enough and they survived, but I was still guilty of the senseless death of Mr. Stripey.
I am remorseful now and 2018 will be the year I put my “inner cheap” out to pasture. All the old dirt is coming out of the boxes – approximately 2.4 cubic yards. I will shovel the dirt into a wheelbarrow (many times) and use it to fill in holes and ruts around the yard.
A few minutes ago, my wonderful wife sent an email to a local business asking if they would kindly deliver 2.4 cubic yards of Rappahannock County top soil. Come March 5th, yours truly, my shovel, and the wheelbarrow will spend a lot of time together. My wife and Mr. Monte will watch me closely and provide “guidance” and “encouragement” whenever my work pace slows.
I almost forgot to tell you about the free lawn aeration service that came with the house when we bought it. When we lived in Manassas, Virginia, we had to pay big bucks to have a service come out and aerate our meager lawn. My “inner cheap” really chafed at the whole idea of having to pay someone to put holes in the lawn. But they told us that it needed to be done.
Free aeration service or infernal lawn critters?
Are they moles, voles, or gophers? We don’t rightly know. It might be all three. Whatever they are, they do a great job. In fact, I personally believe that they are overachieving. Anywhere you walk, you have to be careful not to fall into one of their traps. They have tripped us up more than once. My only source of sweet revenge is running over there holes and crushing their burrows with my lawn tractor.
Are we poor in earthly goods? No, we have Serendipity Farmhouse. We have our children. We have our grandchildren. No, we are not poor – we are richly blessed!
This is the first post in a series about planting, tending, and harvesting in the Serendipity Farmhouse (SFH) garden. As you may have noticed, the tagline for SFH Blog is: Pray, Prepare, Preserve.What do we mean by that and what does it have to do with vegetable gardening?
Through our years together, we have found those three actions to be essential to success in almost any venture. Rather than try to explain in great detail what we mean, we will illustrate through examples. This series of posts will show you how the actions of prayer, preparation, and preserving combine to bring an order and balance throughout the season – from planting to harvest.
Hüttau ( Salzburg / Austria ). Parish church: Saint Isidore the Laborer
Pray – A Patron Saint: We have chosen St. Isidore the Farmer as the patron of Serendipity Farmhouse. So, it is only natural to seek his help when it comes to planting in our vegetable garden. Here is a brief description of St. Isidore and his virtuous life.
St. Isidore, patron saint of farmers, was himself a farmer born in the city of Madrid, Spain, about the year 1110; His chief appeal is to those who, as he did, work the land. But his good qualities–whole-hearted trust in God, his enthusiasm and vigor in doing his job, his spirit of prayer and devotion to religious practice–these can profitably be admired and imitated by all laboring men, …
Prepare –Ordering the Right Seeds: The best seeds for you or my next door neighbor
First Seeds of the Season
might not be the best for SFH. Rather than trying to sort out the claims of the many seed companies, we have taken a different approach. This year many of our seeds will be from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Yes, that’s right, the historic gardens at Monticello are still in use and producing beautiful crops. Check it out here.
Our first batch of seed arrived on Tuesday. You can find out more about each type by clicking on them to see what Monticello says about them:
Preserve– Memories of the Vegetable Gardens at Monticello: Thomas Jefferson was fascinating in his curiosity about what could be grown in his own garden. As we look back on our pictures from those gardens we are inspired to experiment as he did. So, our resolution for this year is to study about the best methods and to put them into practice. As we move through planting, tending, and harvesting, we will record the results and share them with you. In a very real sense we will be preserving a Virginia tradition started at Monticello.
fascinating in his curiosity about what could be grown in his own garden. As we look back on our pictures from those gardens we are inspired to experiment as he did. So, our resolution for this year is to study about the best methods and to put them into practice. As we move through planting, tending, and harvesting, we will record the results and share them with you. In a very real sense we will be preserving a Virginia tradition started at Monticello.