As much as we love living in the country, Joseph and I frequently discuss that our transition just wouldn't have been as successful without our neighbor Mike. Mike is one of the neatest people I've ever met. He's in his late sixties, drives a truck for a living and is a life long Tennessee vegetarian*. He grew up two towns away from ours and is a never ending source of information and wisdom. If that were not a sweet enough deal for your next door neighbor, he delivers his advice in an amazing voice thick with southern expressions. He's been a great friend to us in the 3 months we've lived here, and we rely on him for answers to most of our country quandaries.
Many a time Joseph and I have embarked on projects that we will get half way through and find ourselves stumped. "let's wait til Mike gets home", I'll say. He'll know what to do. Mike will get home and Joseph and I will scurry over to his place. Sure enough Mike will give us a plethora of solutions with step by step instructions to our problem, ranging from free to expensive. His advice usually comes with a loaner tool or two as well.
Producing our own food was one of the main reasons we came to the country. January is planning time. From the reading I've done, I've discovered that farming is pretty complicated. Different crops go in at different times. Some plants like acidic soil, others alkaloid. I'll make a giant grid with every plant's growing time I thought. Instead, I just got overwhelmed. No problem. I just asked Mike what to plant first. It turns out we can start planting snow peas and sugar snap peas in February! Soon after we can plant our asparagus bed. We won't be able to eat from it for another year though. Mike also tells you what breed of plant works best for our soil and climate and where to get it.
We had a couple of warm days, so Joseph and his brother decided to get the beds ready. With the help of Mike's tiller, they had great success. Mike proudly told our friends that the boys had "scratched the earth today". The next day however, Mike brought out the big guns. Mike hooked up a "ripper" or "sub-soiler" to his tractor and gave our beds a super tilling. Apparently if you break up the "hard plate" of earth beneath the superficial layer of soil, your plants are able to root much deeper and will subsequently grow bigger and stronger. Thanks to the boys, Mike and his toys, in just two days of work, our beds are almost ready for spring!
* A Tennessee vegetarian prefers not to eat meat, but will eat it socially. I think I'm the only full blooded vegetarian in Tennessee.
Comments
Post a Comment