Diary 3/15/12

It is raining very hard and not so cold, but uninviting for even greenhouse work.  The dog is restless, and the cat is so bored he is playing with a rubber band.  I have taken on "the closet" and have thrown away my share of dusty old relics of my former life including a final Sociology paper from 1972!   I can't believe I saved it all that time, and I only received a B+ on it. Wouldn't you think if II was going to save something like that, it would have been an A? Ah well, I have vacuumed the dust webs which were so thick they formed thick curtains in the back corners.  Now to put the items I still want in the tubs and stack them neatly. 

Diary 3/14/12

Town errands and wash day.  Glad it wasn't with this beast!

Diary 3/13/12

Snow on the mountain and cold and windy here.  Not inspired to do much, but sunny weather has got to be coming soon, though I do not see it in the forecast!  Little by little we catch up with our water year deficit.  Trees and mosses are happy.

Diary 3/11/12

Happy surprise to find these cyclamens blooming.

Diary 3/10/12

Digging garden gold, the compost from last year.  It looks great, no rocks and little vegetable matter that didn't fully breakdown, only found a few pine cones.  It rained at the end of the composting session last year, so hoping it is somewhat sterile.  That last heating is important not only for toxins or soil borne disease, it also finishes off any viable weed seed that might be in the mix.  Definitely fine texture and full of organic matter to feed the soil micro-organisms.  That is what it is all about, after all.  Grow your soil to grow your food.

Diary3/9/12

Pruning until a stalk every 8 inches or so

Take that, Thorny Rose Bush!

Hurry scurry to get as much done as I could today.  I pruned the other two figs, made two batches of soil mix, and finished the top red raspberry row.  Then I cleaned up all the mess I had made with prunings like a good girl.  Tired, very tired.

Diary 3/8/12

It was sunny and warm today. probably 70 degrees although I never checked the thermometer.  Allen, a neighbor and dedicated farm helper, joined me in the attack with clippers,lopers, and saws.  We pruned 2 fig trees, the main asparagus patch, a row of raspberries, and an out of control, very prickly heirloom climbing rose bush. I turned on waters in all three greenhouses. With the sudden warmth, most of the beds were ready to be watered again.  Also, the dark wet soil can hold some warmth through tonight.  No watering tomorrow though because a cold cloudy session is coming, so you don't want wet soil going into that. As I said before, it is a little tricky right now with young plants and not tough tissues yet.