Delusions of Agriculture

This weekend has been devoted to the Garden.  Last year was really tough. I lost my entire tomato crop to a wilt disease, my potatoes were pretty much decimated by harlequin bugs and my broccoli never grew heads! I got quite discouraged, frankly.

I’ve been assigned a new plot by the garden committee this year, and IT’S AWESOME. I have a half-plot, length-wise. it’s six  beds, about 4 x 5.5′, that have weed-free, relatively fluffy, ammended soil. One dedicated to strawberries, the rest wide open, weed free and ready for anything! After the losing battle with clay and weeds in the previous plot, I am in much better shape to succeed this year.

Saturday with the help of garden neighbors A and K I pulled up, scraped weeds off, and repinned landscape fabric on the paths. Sunday I weeded the strawberry bed and moved my daylilies and iris. Then I planted peas, the first seeds into the ground.

I’ve never had to weed in February before. Our garden advisor spoke to the group a few weeks ago, and he opened his talk with the line: “I urge you to get over your delusions of agriculture.” He wanted us to set aside of romantic notions of gardening and face the realities of raising food organically in southern Maryland.

This year I am more committed to weeding patiently, to planting less densely, to visiting the garden every day and contributing more effort to the community projects that make our Garden so wonderful.

Here’s dreaming of seedlings!