Tilling the earth

Yesterday (Sunday) was one of those rare, glorious days when it all comes together. The high for the day was in the mid-sixties, it was sunny, breezy, and I didn't have to do anything for anyone so I got down to work.

On Saturday I went to Alachua Feed & Seed in Gainesville to pick up some bedding plants and was snagged by their pecan trees. I've had miserable luck in keeping planted pecans alive so last fall I decided I wasn't going to fool with them at all this winter. Until I came across the three varieties I've been looking for, freshly dug, and with plenty of root system still attached so once more I'm going to try my hand at growing them. I planted them out yesterday, one in the yard, the other two in the pasture with plenty of organic matter amending their sand and some old alfalfa cubes for slow-release nitrogen when they need it.

That done I finally had a chance to do something with the garden. The brush pile has been burned, reluctantly, but I did finally get it going. The pepper cages have been cleaned up and the dead, dry plants burned. Also cleaned up the new ground on the far side of the garden which has never been tilled before. There was a rather large standing dead oak there originally which I felled a couple of years ago. A few thick pieces were still solid enough to pick up to cart to the brush pile, the rest was falling apart rotten. I ran the mower over it and the low brush interspersed among it all after first removing the resident cacti. Once everything had been cut as low as I could I ran the rototiller over it. Five times in fact before I could get it the way I wanted it. Lots of roots in there. I also tilled up some of the previously planted areas to get them ready, but ran out of time before I could get to all of what I wanted to turn up. Hopefully this coming weekend I'll get the rest. Also need to clean out the hen house to spread on the garden and turned under so it can mellow for a few weeks before I put in the first of the spring garden some time after April first. I've learned over the years no matter how sweet the weather in March it's not worth the trouble to plant before April Fools day or I'll end up out there freezing my behind off some frosty night spreading bedsheets over my tender plants when the inevitable late freeze hits.

This morning I'm stiff and sore from wrestling the tiller much of the afternoon, but by the time next weekend comes along I'll be ready to go at it again.

.....Alan.

Later edited to correct numerous spelling errors. Sigh...