All In a Day's Work

All the things on the "to do list" were clamoring for attention today. "It's my turn." "I have been waiting so long." On this perfect Spring Day, we completed many tasks that had been waiting. It is so important at these times to take it 1 thing at a time. Stay focused. Everything will get done that needs to be done.

The 1st task was burning 2 small spots of Prairie on the northeast side of our Farm. Fire is nothing to fool around with. Richard and Melanie had completed training offered by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Richard had had significant experience both in teaching and practice before.

The purpose of the burn is to reintroduce fire as a natural part of the Prairie's cycle. As such, Fire becomes a significant part of restoration, which we hope to do here.

Usually after a burn, the Plants just take off from the Blackened Soil. Sometimes, Plants will appear that did not seem to be there before. We 3 C's will be watching carefully. We haven't had many sunny days in the last few weeks. Some of Seedlings spend time outside during the day. Since it was Sunny today, Shade Protection was really important.

So Richard and Melanie improvised a structure for protecting the Plants with Shade Cloth. In the meantime, Melanie and I checked the Plants to see how they were doing throughout the Day. Watering is very important. They did fine.

So far we have about 14 flats of Plants outside. The last of our Cabbages go into the Ground tomorrow. I can imagine they are excited. Those Pots are getting a little tight too.Melanie spent time weeding her Garden. Those opportunistic little Weeds are sprouting under the Straw, although not as fast as if the Ground was exposed.

Those Daffodils were given to us last fall by Rachel, Joe and Kathy Long. They are gorgeous. We smile. Richard and Melanie headed out to prune the Fruit Trees and Grapes. When done right, Pruning removes Dead Wood and Weak Branches. It optimizes growth and productivity. We have had so much to learn here on the Farm. Fortunately, they write books and give trainings on such things. In the meantime, Melanie was listening for the Voice of the Trees. They surely have something to say about it too.Richard rototilled part of the Garden which was at last dry enough to work. It was so nice to see the Soil "softer" and ready to plant, or so it appears after rototilling. Rototilling has a down side though.

We will be moving toward decreasing rototilling as it interferes with the Community of Living Organisms which give the Soil Life. While it looks good in the moment, it also compacts the Soil. Over time, Gardens become more difficult to work. Plant Health and Productivity are reduced too. Now that is not what we are up to here.

As an alternative, we want more raised beds. We explored their use last Summer. Raised beds maximize soil fertility. They are much easier to work. Gardeners can get into them sooner in the Spring. Their productivity is nothing short of amazing. They do need care over time. Compost and Straw are important additions. It is really important for Gardeners to realize that Food Crops do "take out" from the Soil. We need to increasingly be in a position of giving back.

Richard built 2 raised Beds today in preparation for my planting of Cabbages tomorrow. The building process resembles a "cake". He 1st laid down Straw. On top of that, he put Aged Cow Compost. He then dug Soil surrounding the Bed and placed it on top. In the meantime, Melanie disassembled Feed Sacks. She laid them down on the walkways around the Beds. We then put down Straw as the top layer on the Paths. And there you have it: our 2 new Raised Garden Beds. I can imagine the Cabbages cannot wait to get their Roots in the Soil. In the meantime, the Humans are contemplating those next Raised Beds (and uses for those Cabbages).