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April, 2005.
After experiencing one of the more intense winters we have
had in years, I was beginning to wonder if a new season would
ever materialize. But spring has finally arrived in true fashion
here in the mountains of Colorado. The garlic is now poking
up through the mulch. A few spinach plants, leftover in a
cold frame from the fall, are looking perky again. My goats
are regularly filling the pail to the rim, and those little
egg-dropping machines have decided they are comfortable enough
to turn up production a bit. The weather has allowed me a
few days to actually get out and work on gardening projects
while enjoying the sunshine.
The greenhouse is now partially assembled after my folks
and a good friend came over to lend their backs. It was, supposedly,
a day-long project for two, however, as carpentry skills were
a bit lacking, we took the better part of the day and still
didn’t quite get it wrapped up. So I have put that project
on hold for the time being and turned my focus to getting
seeds started, a couple of weeks late.
Following the suggestions of Elliot Coleman, my “gardening
guru”, I constructed three cold frames out of bales
of hay, wood, and various windows that I salvaged. The seeds
were started in a mix of peat moss, perlite, manure, worm
castings, lime and bone meal. This mix was poured directly
into the cold frames about 3 inches deep. In theory, the seedlings
will be “potted up” by cutting them out and transferring
them to another section of the cold frame with more of the
starting mix. Once they are ready for transplant, I will cut
them into 3-inch blocks and transfer them to their permanent
homes. It’s a cheap way of making soil blocks without
the fancy and pricey (by my farm income’s standards)
“blocker” contraptions. As nighttime temperatures
are still dipping into the freezing zone, I was a bit leery
about the success of germination, but hey, Eliot’s the
guru and he says it can be done. (I threw some blankets over
them just to make sure.)
The manure was a Godsend, as have been many of the items
that have been procured for the farm. It is one of the many
blessing of living in a small town. Seems all I have to do
is casually mention that I am looking for this or that and
inevitably I am linked up with someone who just happens to
be ready to part with the very object I am in search of. In
the case of the manure, I was talking with a family friend
one day about compost and she told me that the KOA (Kampgrounds
of America) she works for was loaded with horse waste. Little
did I realize that this was not any ordinary equine excrement.
After loading my pick-up with the well-aged goods, I headed
to the post office. As I am sitting in my truck reading a
letter, I notice this fellow eyeballing my pile of poop in
a lustful fashion. As I get out, I watch as he buries his
hand nearly wrist-deep in the dark, rich heap. “Where
did you find this?” he nearly begs. I give him the details
and he excitedly tells me of his love for composting. Turns
out he was once quite the expert on the process, writing about
it for Organic Gardening magazine back in his earlier
years. He has promised his wife manure for her birthday and
is giddy as a little boy that he will be able to provide her
with a gift as fine as this.
With a 5-year-old pile of manure waiting to find its way
into the garden, compostables coming in from egg customers
and hopefully a few restaurants, seeds germinating away, a
happy herd of goats and flock of chickens, and an eight hour
a week job/education at Echo Organics, I feel like things
are moving in the right direction. Even if I am a bit behind
schedule, thanks to a great community of family and friends
and a healthy dose of sunshine, Easy Growin’ farm is
becoming a reality.  |
