Adjustments - a.k.a. "I got a rock"

Since fall is upon us, heralded by the passing of Labor Day and the arrival of the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks, I feel it is appropriate to quote Charlie Brown from the Peanuts Halloween Special. As the gang analyzed their trick-or-treating results...

"I got a rock."

Poor Charlie Brown.

And so it was for Peter and me this last weekend.

Placing all of the purple flags out on our homestead a week ago was the next step in making our pollinator garden a reality as we prepare to raise bees...planting their food so they can make honey for us!

We put together our Flow Hive this weekend, ordered two colonies of Italian bees, along with a traditional Langstroth hive. Learning and excited about all of it!

Prepping the garden spaces meant breaking out the tiller and receiving a dump truck load of garden soil (our worms are doing great at producing vermicompost, but we know we have way too much ground for our Gerards to amend this fall). Supplemental soil was not the original plan. Adjustments.

Peter and I worked garden bed by garden bed and quickly found that the rocks in the soil were not only numerous, but problematic. We don't have the fanciest tiller on the market, but neither is it not a basic model. It's pretty hefty, but even then, the rocks kept getting lodged in the spines and shutting down the operation.

"I got a rock."

Also, as we tilled, we found that our open field that slopes down to the south is basically swampy, wet clay, and the gardens I planned for that area will definitely NOT work.

Adjustments.

Researching plants and flowers that grow well in Virginia wet clay led me to a new garden plan and an afternoon spent ordering plants/seeds that do well in "swampy areas"...plants like Sweet Woodruff, Halberdleaf Hibiscus, Joe Pye Weed, and Marsh Marigolds.

Adjustments.

This homesteading thing is a Jello-y thing, a little wiggle here, a little wiggle there, or it may just melt away altogether. Peter and I are learning that plans should be held loosely. Two firstborn-type-A-people...this is good for us!

Tilled, compost-y soil added, and covered until our fall flowers (bulbs) arrive for planting.

Adjustments in the vermicompost world as well. We harvested a good amount of vermicompost from our Gerards, but we decided to let it sit a week so we can "rescue" as many of the little worms that are too small to get caught in the sifter before they are packaged up. Patience. Adjustments.

We will bag it and have it ready for sale next weekend, both here on our website and on our Etsy page. Our plan to have it ready this weekend was not realistic with the rescue plan for the baby Gerards. Adjustments.

Random side note. I learned that baby watermelons are the cutest little things growing in my garden. These sugar baby watermelons are just a few inches big right now. I planted a little late, but the vines are healthy and looking good!

Back to adjustments. As I am learning to be a gardener, I am realizing that the plan (with the need for flexibility) is half the battle. The rotation of the garden beds and when to start the next thing, or when a thing just isn't working...I am learning and making spreadsheets. I am already looking forward to next spring!

Last shout out for adjustments...Max the one-eyed rooster, a friend we met at a favorite winery/brewery in the local area.

Actually, I don't know if his name is Max, but it seems right to me. Was he born with one eye, or did he lose one at some point (fighting another rooster over a lady chicken)? Max made an adjustment to how he navigates the world, with his head slightly tilted to the left. Since he does not have a rotating-telescopic-chameleon-type-eye, he has to adapt and make it work.

Be like Max, adapt and make it work. Adjustments.

Most importantly, trust the One who knows the plan, knows the adjustments, and loves you...in the times when it is clear, and when it is dark, in the times when things are good, and in the times when things are hard.