and sow it begins

Now that the weather has taken a respite and the earth is beginning to thaw, it is time to get all those plans out, dust them off and put them to work!

first up, the garden, since that is the one with an actual schedule that must be kept to.

ingredients:
One hay field, that used to be an animal paddock about 100 years ago.
a rototiler -deliciously supplied gratis by a local retired farmer- blessings in disguise. the motor just needed to be re-worked and voila!
an iron rake.
front end loader- for rock collecting. (did i mention that this is limestone country?)
a bucket for collecting the artifacts buried. (you would not believe some of the things that have been thrown/buried/left out in the field for years!)
3 days
5 blisters
and a set of very sore shoulders

Now it may not seem from the photo that much progress has been made, but it is all about the sod removal. and by sod, i don't mean that pretty green stuff you lovingly tend in your back yard. I am talking about north country grass.
Did I ever tell you about north country grass? It comes straight from the place that all things evil come from. you can cut it to dirt level and with one slight drizzle it will be three inches tall and green as anything. You mow it every three days in the summer and it doesn't stop growing until mid november. seriously. first snow better be over 4 inches, or the green stuff will poke itself through. stubborn as hell and its root system is unmatched. chainmail dreams of being this when it grows up. evil, i tell you. evil.

more progress on the garden later, though. the tractor has to come in and plow up the remaining grass root balls, more raking rocks then the fence.

Time to jump start some seedlings. a poor mans hot box.

while i am still in the process of building actual hot boxes and raised beds, there is no reason why these little guys can't start on their journey from the ground to the table.
everyone has atleast one of these plastic crates lying around. inevidably, they get cracked, cause that is what plastic does. Don't throw them out yet. they make perfect little homes to start your seedlings in. and they still hold water. (if you have one with an actual hole, just get some duct tape. it won't be overly abused.) put them out in the sun and they create nice little terrariums, soaking in sunlight, creating their own moisture and gaining a second purpose in life.

The peat pots are home made as well. no need to spend loads of money on premade, store bought pots. Take an old tin can and some news paper and make your own.
so simple. Cut the paper down to strips that are about 3 inches longer than the can. wrap the paper around the can, tucking the paper around the bottom of the can. burnish it a bit on a hard surface and slide the paper 'cup' off the can. carefully fold the top inwards about 1/2 inch and volia! fill with dirt and set into your crate. add about 2 inches of water and let the paper soak it up over night. the next morning~seed away!

meanwhile, deadlines are looming and I have plaster drying in the studio and am excited to get back in there. look for photos tomorrow. There are new works completed, a donation for a local art auction and more exciting things on the horizon!

Don't you just love how a few sunny days gets your motivation zooming!!

till then,
live well.
be happy.