Posted By FarmerJ on March 20, 2009

If there is one thing about the Prairie Farmstead that continually amazes me, it’s the quality of the dirt.  We are blessed with some amazingly luscious, rich and fertile soil ~ just look at that beautiful stuff!  It’s not sandy, there’s no clay, you couldn’t find a rock if you needed one.  Darling Husbie described it best when he compared the consistency of it to that of chocolate angel food cake.  And for me, it is just as therapeutic to get out there on my hands and knees and dig around in that stuff as it is to stuff my face full of chocolate cake!

Today was a productive day.  Husbie hooked up his new-to-him plow to the back of Spanky this evening and got in a couple of hours of seat time.  He first went to the back forty and  got that area plowed up ~ remember, he’s preparing that area for the deer grass.  Plus, it gave him a few acres to get the plow adjusted ‘just so’ before moving up to the front yard plot.

In no time at all, I heard Spanky happily puttering his way to the house.  I peeked out the window and Husbie flashed me his adorable smile and gave me a ‘thumbs up’ sign.  There’s nothing better than a happy man and his tractor.  Knowing the front plot was next, I grabbed the camera and went out to witness the marvel of this old machinery and to capture a few action shots.

Not only was it amazing to watch that fabulous dirt get sliced and turned over effortlessly, it was incredibly fun to stand back and watch a little bit of nature at work.  Make just a little ‘shift’ to the norm and you’ll be inundated with activity ~ if you stop long enough to take it all in.

This pretty little guy ~ Jake No-Shoulders ~ was one of the first creatures to come to life.  Of course, the fact that he had just narrowly escaped getting a plow blade through his cranium may have something to do with his movement.  He had been uprooted and overturned, and Husbie was once again headed straight for him.  We love our little snakes here on the farmstead, so Husbie stopped Spanky and relocated Jake to a safer area ~ free of all tractor tires, plow blades and the two curious canines.  While Husbie was making another pass, I spotted Jake’s little brother inconveniently curled up in right in the path of Spanky’s oncoming tire.  I successfully gave Husbie the hand and arm signal for “stop the tractor, Lovie, there’s another snake” and he lovingly relocated Jake’s little brother, too.

The next thing I immediately noticed was all the little earthwormies.  There were literally hundreds of thousands of them throughout the 12,900 square foot plot.  They say worms are a good sign of and are necessary for healthy soil ~ I’d say we’re extremely blessed there.  I’ve got the camera set on ‘super zoom’ here, and we’re looking at a space approximately 8″ x 8″.  In this little space, there are no less than three wormies trying to burrow their way back into their earthly home.  It was difficult to even take a step without stepping on a little wormie.

And, of course, where you have wormies, you have birdies.  This little Red Robinhood moved just as I snapped the photo ~ I think it had something to do with Spanky barreling down on her.  She and three of her closest friends were enjoying a scrumptious feast of my said wormies.

Now all we needed was the cat to get the birds and the dogs to get the cat ~ but they were all inside…Abigail in the Mon-kay’s bed, Peanut in Son #1′s bed and the Mon-kay in the bathtub.  Clearly there is a kink in that food chain, eh?

While Husbie’s been progressing with the heavy duty tasks outside, I’ve managed to accomplish a few lighter tasks inside.  In addition to completing the layout plans for the large plot, I’ve finally got the layout for the small plot done as well.  With the exception of the asparagus rows, the remainder of the 20′ x 40′ plot will be my square foot garden space with fifteen 4′ x 4′ sqaures.

I’ve also created a couple of helpful spreadsheets.  One lists each plant variety we have, and then indicates whether to start the seeds indoors; how deep to sow the seeds; the required plant and row spacing; how long it takes from seed to harvest; and any special notes regarding planting or harvesting.  The other spreadsheet is a timeline which again lists each plant variety along with indications of when to start the seeds indoors, if applicable; when to plant outside; when to fertilize the plants; and when the harvest season for that variety begins.  It also indicates those varieties that will produce a summer and fall harvest if I play my cards right.  It sure feels good to have this all completed in some sort of organized manner ~ maybe I will have half a fighting chance at successfully planting, maintaining and harvesting this postal code area…if I can just stick to the plan and the timeline.  Oy!

Since I will need a jar or two to preserve some of this produce, I’ve been on the lookout for mason jars.  I managed to get nearly 80 jars at our local Goodwill a couple of weeks ago.  I’ve got them all sterilized, inspected for chips or cracks, sorted and inventoried.  Now all I need is to get some lids and rings.  And maybe another jar or two here and there.

I’ve also got myself enrolled in an online self-study course offered by the National Center for Home Food Preservation through the University of Georgia.  I figure I have a lot to gain by learning proper preservation techniques and practices.  I’ve read a lot of books ~ mainly the various Ball’s Blue Book series ~ but there’s something a little more comforting to me about the fact that I will receive a certificate after I’m tested on the information I’ve learned.  It will help reassure myself that I’ve actually retained the information ~ because when it comes to botulism, I don’t want to mess around!

Oh, and I’ve also done a little research on the requirements and process involved in selling produce at one of the local Farmer’s Market…just in case we run out of friends and neighbors to share our harvest with!

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