During this COVID-19 era, I am beyond grateful that I have a job where I am working outside and pretty much alone. The farm is at my parent’s house so I get to check on them almost daily. This is a blessing to me.
I have cancelled my gardening class on April 4th until the bans are lifted. The risk is low in this environment, but I want to support people self-quarantining and staying home as much as possible. In the meantime, OSU is offering their master gardener short course series for free. Check out the site:
I will be putting plants into the high tunnel soon. The starts are ready and beds are almost ready. I’ve used 2 of the implements I got with my BCS tractor to prepare the high tunnel soil: the flail mower and the rotary plow. Picture 1 is the Flail Mower, picture 2 is the rotary plow. I used the plow twice because the first time I didn’t go down deep enough. The learning curve on this machine is steep for me. But each time I use it, we become better friends. I still suck at making a straight line, though!
Pictures 3 and 4 show me shaping the beds to receive amendments. I’ll be using the last implement I got with the BCS to stir in the amendments: the Power Harrow. Another learning opportunity.
Planning the configuration of the space almost broke my mind. There are many, many options. I chose 4 - 4 foot beds, which I’m used to planting in, at 75 feet long to give room on the ends to turn the tractor around and have a staging area for maintenance and harvest. That’s 1200 sq. feet of planting space, doubling the amount I planted out last year! I chose 2 foot pathways because I like ease of movement and the ability to bring a wheelbarrow down the bed if I want. I also chose to leave a 5 foot space along the East side to build racks for my starts and have a propagation area right in the high tunnel so I don’t have to build another structure right away.
Spring is here and I will be planting my starts in the new beds in the next couple of days. I’m very excited! Another piece of the dream in place.
Be well and breathe in deeply the promise of Spring.
