Monday, October 11, 2010

Fall Planting

The kids and I (katie z.) make a fast trip out to the land today, Columbus Day, to plant our fall crops before the appropriate planting window passed.  I suppose, for a handful of bulbs and only an eventual pound or two of crop, it was a waste of gas, but as we may or may not be in our house next summer to harvest from our yard, I wanted to plant out at the land too.

Because James weed-whacked a week ago, and I had hoed some at the time, I have some fairly easy soil to prepare, unlike the men's first tilling this spring.  I dug my patch with a hand-trowel, throwing out a few grubs, and finding that we had missed at least two potato plants in our harvest earlier in the summer. Two potatoes were still edible, but the rest were mushy or moldy.

I mixed in a few handfuls of vegetable fertilizer, then planted garlic bulbs (the biggest heads from this summer's crop) and some multiplier onions that have been waiting on the counter for a month.  Next June, I should have onions and garlic to harvest, barring drought or other drastic events.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.