Spring has finally rolled into Central Montana after a final winter blast that laid three feet of heavy snow across the land. In my hand rattle my seed packets itching to slip into the cool soil where nature and germination create their yearly miracle.
I've blue corn to plant this year but that will have to wait one more month....after the holiday, around the first of June. Right now it is endless rounds of potatoes into the ground. The soil has been dormant all winter under a thick layer of compost.
At the end of the growing year the barns are cleaned and all the old footing goes to the garden to refurbish the soil over the winter months. The soil underneath stays loose and airy aided by earthworms and other microorganisms.
Today I added something new, raspberries and blackberries...they come as inauspicous looking twigs tied to a support pole of bamboo stuck into a pot of soil....a 1x1 hole in the ground and firmed soil around the wood-be plant an it is ready to begin its future. I've a nice straight row of them now...only thing left to do is water and wait....
There is a spiritual affirmation to working with the elements of soil, sun, water, and seed. It is true that when you focus on the individual plants over their growth that they seem to grow greener, healthier, and tastier. I know this because one year I experimented with it. The ones I left to fend for themselves seemed a poor shadow of the ones given the greater attention.
This year is going to be a year of expansion....I'm going to grow the garden itself by a few think....musing this over daily is becoming a hobby. Like furnature in the house, constantly rearranging the mental picture of what I want where, and what I'm hoping it to look like in full bloom. I think I've moved the onions two dozen times already...when I seed them at last then I shall be satisfied per force.
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