the first garden gab of 08

It is right about now in western Montana that I begin to yearn for spring. It is cold and snowy but not snowy enough for good skiing. And the snow is all old and puckery with brown spots peaking through. I think it is the brown spots that get me. I carefully approach these bare fields and stab at them to see if perhaps the earth might give a bit and could perhaps swallow some pea or spinach seeds.

I still have a good month or so even with global warming. But I am ready to start talking about my plot.

The picture above is the view out my kitchen window. The arching path on the left is not an arching path. It is a four foot deep trench that was dug last fall. My man is an electrician and is doing a new Service on our house. This is what I know about a new Service:

• we won’t have ugly wires hanging over our house because they will be buried
• our cute, retro, white panel is being replaced by an large, industrial, gray panel
• my strawberries were nearly murdered
• half of my fence has been removed to accommodate The Service and not yet replaced so my edible plot is Alice’s favorite place to poo

Now that everything is all tore up and the fence removed, I think I will rototill the area. I have never done this as I am a fan of minimal tillage to encourage healthy soil microbial activity; it has always been me and my shovel. But this year, I plan to reorient my rows to run east-west instead of north-south. This is to attempt crop rotation as much as possible in my itty bitty garden. I had my fill of Colorado Potato Beetle infestation due to poor crop rotation on the farm. I will have to wait until the soil has dried out a bit before tilling because if I do it when the soil is all saturated and soggy, all the good guys will perish.

I am feeling impatient. Last year, March 19 was the day.