We listen to the weather radio every morning. And last week they started warning of very heavy rains headed this way. We needed rain, but several inches? Will wanted to get a spot on the neighbor’s hay field plowed and planted this spring into clover and orchard grass and spring plowing in our neck of the woods is difficult as the soil doesn’t dry up well in the spring. As it was kind of dry, he headed out to get that done while I continued planting the garden. I got in 48 hills of potatoes, our Provider bush beans, squash (both in our garden and several other isolated plots) the Glass Gem popcorn, dill, cukes, and assorted herbs. Then I got a phone call. Will was stuck with the tractor and plow.
It only got worse. He came home and got the dozer, and we went back to the field. The dozer pulled the tractor out pretty easily (the plow had already broken and been welded!) and he continued plowing while I went home. Then he ran out of diesel in the tractor and we went to town to fill two cans. He was going to wait until the next day to finish but we turned on the weather radio in the car and found out that the rains were coming a day earlier than expected beginning that next morning! So at 7 p.m. he went back and tried to finish up. I went on home, figuring that when he got done he would call me to pick him up because we don’t like running equipment on the road after dark for safety reasons. An hour later, he came in driving the truck and empty trailer.
Seems like he was swatting mosquitoes and sand flies coming out of the swamp at dark and got stuck again. Then when he went to get the dozer to pull the tractor out, it threw a track. By then the skeeters were eating him alive and he ran for the truck and gave up.
And then the rains came. Luckily, we only got an inch, then another half inch the next day, and an inch and half last night. Some places saw four and five inches with flooding. Luckily, we live on a gravel ridge way above the creek. But the beaver pond is full and the dam is running over.
We do have a dry week ahead (hopefully) for our seminar this weekend, so Will should be able to go put Old Yeller back together and pull the tractor out. But there won’t be any plowing for awhile — not without pontoons! The one good thing is that getting so much planted ahead of the rain, my seeds should pop up soon as the soil is very warm due to the above-normal temperatures. — Jackie
Jackie – your gardening prowess amazes me every year. I don’t know how you do it! I am a SAH mother of a 3 year old, plus an assortment of farm animals that require daily care. We have a 30×50 garden, and it is all I can do to get it planted.
Do you have an article previously published on how you do your potatoes? I am in PA, and have not had great success with mine. 2 years ago I tried potato bags (we were still in the city), last year I did a row, but just couldn’t get the mounds up very high. Both times I was not happy with the output or size of the potatoes produced. (My husband is Irish, he likes his potatoes – must grow more!)
This year I am trying the box method – I have scrap wood rectangle boxes my husband brought home from work. Each box has two squares in it. I dug 2 holes as deep as I could by hand and place a box over it, set my seed potatoes inside, and lightly covered them. I have 2-3 more box frames to put over the base one and fill up with dirt as they grow.
Any fertilizer ideas? We are another year out from having good manure compost from the large animals/chickens, but I also have rabbit and goat pellet poos which I heard you can use right away?
Thank you – you are such an inspiration!
Wendy,
Thanks. Like I’ve often said, we just keep pluggin’ along, sometimes wading through a lot of crap days. Hey, it’s got to get better, right?
You two are an inspiration, expecially when you’re faced with these ‘Murphy lives’ situations! Hoping that things get better and that you have a great seminar.
Sheryl,
Thanks. We figure it was just “one of those weeks”! Hey, it happens….. sometimes more than less.
Oh golly, some days you just want to cry! Hang in there.
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