by
Janet Poston
Spring is right around the corner. “Yes!” It’s time to start tilling the soil for our garden. In the past we have used our draft horse, Cash (pictured below). He is an awesome Percheron horse who actually trained to be in an ad for Southern States before we bought him ten years ago. However, he did not dapple out quite enough and was never included in the ad. Who cares about a few extra spots, we don’t. Ol’ Cash actually has lost more of his gray over the past few years. He now is more white than gray.
The nearby Amish still do all their tilling using draft horses. To save on time, we no longer use Cash. We now use two different sized gas tillers; a Troy-Bilt & a Stihl. Up until last summer, Stan* tilled frequently to keep the soil in good shape. *(My beloved husband of over thirty-five years, Stan, passed away last July 24. He was, by no stretch of the imagination, a master gardener). . . So, needless to say, Stan is sorely missed (for a thousand different reasons), and our gardening skills won’t be nearly as sharp. Tilling will have to be taken over by the rest of us.
We know Stan will be smiling down from heaven as we continue on with something that was so dear to his heart!
The ground is still damp from our most recent snow, thunderstorms, and flash flooding. Hopefully, it will be drying out soon. The weatherman indicates that we should be drying out next week so that we can begin to till within the next few days. If the soil is too wet, it won’t till right and the dreaded soil lumps will hinder plant growth. But, as soon as the soil is ready, we’ll be ready to do our part. The gardening is just beginning!
Even if you can only put out a small garden patch, it’s better than no patch at all and just think . . . while gardening, the sun will provide you with a source of much needed Vitamin D and you will be Toning your Mind, Body, & Spirit. Hopefully, this is an activity you can share with your family or neighbors. You'll not only grow your veggies/herbs/fruit you'll know what they don't have--say E-coli for example. Best of all, your produce will be Fresh, Nutritious and Delicious!
Janet Poston
Spring is right around the corner. “Yes!” It’s time to start tilling the soil for our garden. In the past we have used our draft horse, Cash (pictured below). He is an awesome Percheron horse who actually trained to be in an ad for Southern States before we bought him ten years ago. However, he did not dapple out quite enough and was never included in the ad. Who cares about a few extra spots, we don’t. Ol’ Cash actually has lost more of his gray over the past few years. He now is more white than gray.
 |
| Will riding Cash; me holding Rett. |
The nearby Amish still do all their tilling using draft horses. To save on time, we no longer use Cash. We now use two different sized gas tillers; a Troy-Bilt & a Stihl. Up until last summer, Stan* tilled frequently to keep the soil in good shape. *(My beloved husband of over thirty-five years, Stan, passed away last July 24. He was, by no stretch of the imagination, a master gardener). . . So, needless to say, Stan is sorely missed (for a thousand different reasons), and our gardening skills won’t be nearly as sharp. Tilling will have to be taken over by the rest of us.
Why till?
- Tilling breaks up the ground into fine particles, making it easier to plant seeds and pull weeds, and of course the roots of the plants can grow quickly and easily.
- Tilling works in the added fertilizer. We use only natural/organic fertilizers (from our chickens and cows). We do use green-manuring, too. This is simply tilling in leftover pea and bean vines, etc. from the summer/fall garden or tilling in cover crop such as rye grass, buckwheat, and alfalfa. All this fertilizer is mixed up and stirred around in the dirt. Hey, we know what’s in/on our food. -- We know our farmers!
- Tilling also fights those dreaded weeds.
 |
| Wright tilling in the background. |
We know Stan will be smiling down from heaven as we continue on with something that was so dear to his heart!
The ground is still damp from our most recent snow, thunderstorms, and flash flooding. Hopefully, it will be drying out soon. The weatherman indicates that we should be drying out next week so that we can begin to till within the next few days. If the soil is too wet, it won’t till right and the dreaded soil lumps will hinder plant growth. But, as soon as the soil is ready, we’ll be ready to do our part. The gardening is just beginning!
Even if you can only put out a small garden patch, it’s better than no patch at all and just think . . . while gardening, the sun will provide you with a source of much needed Vitamin D and you will be Toning your Mind, Body, & Spirit. Hopefully, this is an activity you can share with your family or neighbors. You'll not only grow your veggies/herbs/fruit you'll know what they don't have--say E-coli for example. Best of all, your produce will be Fresh, Nutritious and Delicious!
Wishing you happy gardening days!
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