We chose to focus on squaring away the house this year which means the garden, the ever important garden, did not get the attention it needs. Fortunately nature picked up the slack. Last year the wild rasberries were out of control. This year its the blackberries. Its said that they alternate years, looks to be true. The fun part about blackberries is they thrive on the edges of paths and clearing. Easy access. The rasberries spread out into the acreage. A half hour walk on the old logging paths provided me with the bounty pictured above. Theres plenty more too.
My neglect to the greenhouse killed the bean seedlings but the tomatoes survived. They were planted a little late too, especially considering the short growing season.
I dont know if theyll produce anything before the first frost. The current markets are filled with tomatoes from local farms so they are definitely far behind. Considering it was a last ditch effort anyways, its a lost cause thatll be a pleasant surprise if I get one tomato.
The garden plot has been picked out. Still needs a lot of work and that is 2018 main focus, absolute priority. Cedar post fence will surround it. Im more than halfway done however digging holes isnt much fun in this rocky soil. A borrowed power auger proved to take longer than doing them by hand due to all the time spent dealing with it binding on rocks.
Its funny how quickly things change. Initially the plan was to cultivate the entire clearing (about 2 acres) and mow it. Doing it by hand proved to be...hard. Im trying to keep equipment out of the ordeal as it builds a dependency upon said equipment. Some people like mowing acres. I dont. A large focus of this place is to work with nature rather than battle it head on. Our useable footprint has shrunk immensely and Im happy about it. Between needing less and using less, life provides us with more.
