Thursday, February 23, 2012

February planting

It was 70 degrees today! What a day for planting. It's been nothing if not mild, so hopefully our January planting will give us an earlier start. We went out in the field today to plant another seeding of radishes, turnips, greens, arugula, spinach... We started off spreading one load of  compost on the beds and as we returned for the second load, the tractor quit. It had been belching some black smoke earlier... IT took almost an hour of clearing the gas line of diesel junk to get going again. G spent some time sucking on the lines trying to clear it, but we had to disconnect hoses and thread wire through the hoses to get blockage out. Lesson: don't run the diesel down to empty..... we knew better...
All ended well, the girls helped on the tractor as Carmella chanted for me as I ran the seeder down the bed. The smell of soil and hot sun on the back felt great! Onward to Spring!!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

New season 2012

Wow, we haven't added anything since the crush of August. That can happen after August. It felt like a marathon.. September and October mellowed out somewhat but not enough to blog I guess!!
Well, 2012 is upon us already. We luckily ordered all our seeds right after Christmas and had a big package waiting for us on our return from Puerto Rico (our January getaway!).
It has hardly been a winter here and most places. So, ala global warming, we decided to plant some seeds outside a month ahead of when we normally do. Although it feels good, in a way, it also feels really weird. It's warm, the sun is shining birds are chirping but it's January (or was). We sowed spinach, turnips, radishes, lettuces, greens, fava beans, beet and carrots (all outside under remay cover). If it stays mild they should actually grow. We also started our onions in the greenhouse as normal.
Somehow even though it's warm, my body is still hibernating. I don't have Spring fever yet to be out and active entirely, at least in a farm work sense. I still feel the need for rest and reflection. The markets and serious busyness will be upon us before we know it and then I will lament the hours I can't spend reading by the fire.
I read Jane Austen's "Persuasion" in two days over the weekend. I hadn't read her since high school  probably and while I"m not going to go on a Jane Austen spree, I enjoyed it. The writing is so subtle and the lifestyle expressed SOOO different from mine, that is in interesting.
I am also reading Galileo's daughter- mostly a book about Galileo and his life and work, but also about his relationship with his daughter reconstructed from letters she wrote him. Very compelling.
So, that's kind of where I am. Contemplating the busyness to come, the season is certainly spiraling our way. Intern references to check, market meetings to attend, seeds to plant, but also books to be read by the fire still!
Nicole