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February 27, 2008

Herb Garden

Last fall I asked our customers for ideas on things to grow. All of the comments were very good and the farm’s planting schedule has been adjusted to include collard greens, kohlrabi, chicory and fresh herbs. The herbs are the most exciting change to the farm. My brother Freeman and I selected a handful of perennial herbs: rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage, tarragon and mint, amongst others.

Before the winter rains started we had the small plants grown into transplants ready to be planted into the earth. The space we selected was next to the office, in an old mixed tree fruit orchard that our mother had planted years ago. Many of the trees in the orchard had already died and the remaining apricots, plums and apples were ready to be replaced. In a day’s work, Ricardo and his crew had rooted the old trees from the thick soil, disked the field once, ripped the field 18-inches deep, disked it again and then pulled up beds every sixty inches – the standard bed spacing for our farm.

The area already looked so much better, the ground that had been providing a living space for the old fruit orchard had literally been turned upside-down and set up to provide life for a whole new thing. Freeman and I briefly argued, as brothers do, about the positioning of the new herbs. We worked in the afternoons on transplanting the little herb plants into the center of the beds and after a few afternoons we decided that the only way the job was going to get done before the rain would be if we enlisted some help. Lala and Cuco were elected and in two days time, the planting was complete and all the little plants had a home. The orchard had become a field of neatly organized beds of dark soil, garnished with little herb plants every eighteen inches.

This was completed last fall and some concern about how the new little plants would handle the cold, wet winter loomed in the back of my mind. The rains completely saturated the soil and the cold nights left ice on the little plants. As the plants settled into their new home, the resident grass seeds germinated and grew, becoming neighbors to the herbs. Today the field is green with young grasses that have grown making the new little herb plants difficult to spot – but they are there.

Last week the soil had dried enough, making the conditions perfect for hoeing and starting the process of creating a healthy environment for the herbs to thrive. Freeman and I again made it our afternoon project to hoe the weeds on the top of the bed, getting as close to the plants as comfortable and using our fingers to remove the weeds that found refuge close to the herbs. The two beds we finished now have a twelve-inch strip of soil that once again is only soil and herbs. The edges and bottoms of the beds are still green with grass but soon the soil will be dry enough for the tractor to cultivate the remainder of the weeds. In not much time the weeds will be ready to be hoed again and again and again - this is organic farming after all.

It will not be long until the little herb plants become bushes and each week’s delivery will include a handful of their fresh treasures. Enjoy your box - Thaddeus

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