Building the Garlic Garden, by Kira

Though rainy and windy most of the day it was still mild.

I spent a better part of the afternoon in the new garlic garden!

I was able to fill my garden.

The rows are about a foot apart and the soil turned down

about a foot to loosen it up.

Bulbs are planted about 6 inches apart.

I laid shavings between the rows and leaves on top of the freshly

planted garlic.

My little helper watched from my back.

This is the 2012 main vegatable garden.

It is now full of next year's garlic!

The spot in the center will become a hugelkultur bed.

We do not want to dig this spot.

It is the resting place of a raccoon and an old hen.

Nutrients for the plants.

I ran out of room but there is still lots of garlic left.

There will be a few more small garlic beds to build.

I am hoping to have planted enough garlic for us to eat and for planting

next year. That should work out to about 450 cloves into the ground.

I hope to have it all in the ground before the snow settles in.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Ready or not...

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Are you prepared?

 
 
 
 

Rainy Night Work

There's no stopping the clock on the farm so we can't let the weather or the dark days of fall slow us down.
In fact, this is the final stretch before the snow comes.
I always figure on the third week of November as the deadline.
But that doesn't mean it ends there.

This Fall the weather has been cold and wet.
After a summer of drought it feels wrong to complain about the rain,
but it's been incessant.
I'm behind schedule on everything, so every moment counts.
It's time to break with a routine that revolves around the sunlight.
There's no reason to be afraid of the dark.

I have talked about setting up our infrastructure in order to cope with the heat of the summer.
The same rigging should keep us going during the Winter.
It just means some warmer clothes and preparations for snow.
I normally use the good weather for outdoor work and the poor weather for indoors.
It works when the balance is right, but if it's all rain,
nothing would get done outside.

Electricity really shines here and it would be difficult to do without it.
Having no power wouldn't be horrible though.
It would just mean getting more down time when it's dark.
I may have a change of heart over the years and leave the dark of night for sleeping.

For now though, there's work to be done.
Portable gear helps you roll with the different conditions.
A great big shop would be nice, but that's a pretty hefty luxury.
Ingenuity will suffice for now.
Do what you can with what you have.
I have lights and some shelter.
And that's enough.