A heart full of love

Every year, sometime between transplanting and the craziness of harvest, I start to think that it is not going to work out, that nothing will grow into food, that everything has gone horribly wrong. Then I realize that there is a five gallon bucket full of potatoes on the kitchen floor, that we have been eating green beans for weeks, that the hammock is full of curing onions (good thing it is way too hot to swing in it myself), that those two cloth sacks full of garlic make for a LOT of garlic, that I can eat as many tomatoes as I want and there are still enough left over for canning, and that despite the appearance that it is knocking on death's door the cucumber are steadily growing, I realize that it worked out again this year. I have food!!! AND it is raining. I feel happy.

Independence Day

What a great day! A day off in the middle of the week made for good fun and good farming. I finally harvested the onions; they are drying on the hammock. This system seemed to work pretty well last year, and we never got around to making something a bit less.....holey for this year, so hammock it is! I also harvested two types of garlic and shallots. One type of garlic made very small heads, so I think I will plant more of the second type next year. Then we biked to the Eno Festival for some food and music. We also learned that we can download plans for a screech owl house on the Piedmont Wildlife Center's website, so maybe we will try to attract a screech owl next spring. Then bike home and harvest POTATOES. If you have read previous posts, you know I love potatoes. I pretty near filled up a five gallon bucket of these wonderful things, even though all of my plants succumbed to a terrible disease this year. Secretly I am pleased that this means I get to procure all new seed potatoes next year. I like trying new things. Happy 4th, everyone!

Onions!

It's over. It's really, really over. Even though it's still cold out, it's warm sometimes, too. And ......... THE ONIONS ARE GROWING!!!!! I was outside for a bit on Sunday. It was in the 60s and sunny. I cut back some of the herbs and the asparagus. And I checked on the onion bed. There are sprouts!!! The onions know it is spring!!!! Thank goodness; I have had more than enough winter.

In other news, my Durham Tech class is just about perfect. Today, we learned some about good plants for attracting insects and birds. I was thrilled to learn that I have already planted many of them; all of my herbs, chaste tree, sunflowers (I can't wait to plant the ones I got at that rest stop in Virginia). It sounds like I need plant some stuff in the carrot family, more parsley, and sun chokes. Also a beauty berry bush.

It's time to go back to wondering if it is inappropriate to wear rubber slippers when interviewing potential summer clerks. It's going to be 65 tomorrow (yay!!!) and I am interviewing from 10 to 2:10. Grrrr. Oh well. Hopefully it will be 65 again soon.