Ending and Beginning

Another Sunday work day.

• Watered hazelnuts I planted last fall.
• Dug up area where collars and kale were last year, since it didn’t get dug last fall. Dug in a couple of gallons of coffee grounds. Pulled up the remaining collard roots and stalks and put them in the compost pile. Found lots of worms.
• Several of the kale plants I planted last July made it through the winter (without any shelter other than the snow) and are growing new leaves. I watered those. I wonder if they’ll try to go to seed right away. If they do, I will let them and harvest the seed.
• Dug a trench around upper edge of new west beds and dumped in contents of char/urine/fish emulsion bucket. Looked like not so much char and a lot of small pieces of uncharred wood. Sigh.
• Dug up some clumps of sod in what last year was the new potato ground, and a few potatoes with it. I never got around to digging all the potatoes last fall. It was just so labor intensive and I was getting barely more potatoes out of it than I had planted. It was discouraging and put me off the idea of surviving on potatoes, although it would have been easier to dig them up if the ground had been worked properly. Corn. Corn is the answer.
• Put a plastic tarp over some of the grassy area north of the fence, near the hazelnuts. I want to kill that grass over the next two months and plant some corn there.
• Found a big piece of black plastic folded over next to the foundation of the garage. I started to unfold it and realized there was a nest of carpenter ants inside. I quickly dragged it to the back fence and threw it over, then went around and opened it up, hoping the birds would eat them. I hate carpenter ants. At least they weren’t inside the garage or house, although having them that close to it is kind of a bad sign.
• Turned over the soil in the three raised beds. It’s in very good shape, and is ready for planting as soon as we dare.
• Did the composting.
• Removed the plastic trash can from under the SW drainspout, as it was cracked and not holding water. Extended the downspout a couple of feet to keep the water away from the foundation. I need to get serious about rainwater collection this year.
• Untaped the two inside house windows I had taped last fall to keep out the wind.

And in a sure sign of a warm, dry spring, the little brown ants have re-invaded the kitchen.

But we’re only gardeners. If we don’t have animals, we’re not farmers. It’s pathetic, but I want to be a farmer, even though I am clueless about animal husbandry and haven’t the heart to do what needs to be done.