We hope everyone will join us for the next Pathfinder Produce market at Pathfinder Village, Thursday, April 16, from 2 to 5 p.m. We offer a great selection, including some freshly picked greens, and our prices can’t be beat!
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It was our family’s annual “Tractor Maintenance and Clean the Landmines
from the Lawn” this past weekend, an informal rite of spring during which we assess
how hard the winter was, consider what jobs need doing right away, and formulate
work plans for future weekends.
On Sunday, I found myself in the raised-bed garden, clearing out
the accumulated debris of last year’s stalks.
It was simply a warm, glorious day with blue skies, the sounds of
nature, and a light breeze. On occasion
I would look up from my work to the hills that rise to the west to see a bald
eagle performing his seasonal work. He’s been hunting over our pond for about a
week, and it’s been fascinating to watch (I assume it’s a he, but according to
this website, it
could be a female, as both parents share egg incubation and feeding duties). I
believe it is the same pair as last year, which had a nest near where the
Beaver Creek meets the Unadilla River.
As I worked, I would occasionally hear the sounds of alarmed
Canadian geese and mallards, and then see pairs of waterfowl leaving hurriedly …
I can only assume that the eagle made some unsuccessful dives at them. It will be interesting to see if our resident
varmint populations are affected by the eagles’ activities.
I was inspired to tackle the garden based on all the great work I’ve
seen completed at Pathfinder’s Button Greenhouse by our vocational program
members. And although I thought I’d have
a herculean job on my hands, it didn’t really take that long to get things
looking better. After examining the 4’x8’
rough-cut wooden frames we use for raised beds, I decided they were sturdy
enough to use again. I just needed to
replace the nails that were pinning the corners where the boards had cupped,
opting for some longer and sturdier screws for greater strength.
As I worked, I pulled out as many weed roots as possible, and it
was good to see how many earthworms
were working the soil, as they aerate plant roots and break down organic matter
into nutrients plants need. Earthworms
are a sign of a healthy garden, and can even be used to increase the speed of
composting vegetable scraps if one sets up a worm bin. Click here to read more on vermiculture. (As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn’t
put animal-based food scraps into a compost pile if you intend to use the
compost on vegetables).
I finished my work by placing some concrete pavers between the raised
beds, to prevent extraneous plants from growing there. Over the next week, I hope to beef up the soil
in each bed by adding some bags of organic top soil. I also hope to plant some cold-tolerant
crops, like kale, spinach and radishes.
Tips for early season gardening are available at the websites for P. Allen
Smith, and the Chicago
Botanical Garden.
Until next time, enjoy your seasonal work and be well,
Lori
