Weekly Newsletters

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Newsletter for July 13, 2011

The Zen of Weeding

Everyone has weeds.  Nobody likes weeds. Then again, shouldn’t that be more reason to find some joy in taking care of them?  There is certainly a satisfaction when one finally finishes weeding a row of vegetables.  Kneeling, crawling along on the ground, level with the cabbages or broccolis or chards or salad, searching for every last weed attempting to choke out the vegetable’s hold on resources, one realizes the benefits of a broccoli canopy to the soil below.  There is a detectable difference in moisture and temperature, a relief from the heat of the bright sun.  I’ve found that once I get into the rhythm of weeding there is a certain zen to the whole thing.

Where we grow our veggies, the weeds grow in entire matts.  Needless to say, we do a great deal of weeding here.  There is a certain triumph as one grabs whole fistfuls of weeds and stuffs them in the weed bucket. I only have to weed around about three nearly-grown cabbages to fill my bucket.  It’s a lot of work and not easy either.  But it also allows me time to exercise my imagination.  I’ve dreamt up products for gardeners who want to wear shorts while weeding on hot days.  I’ve thought about time management as far as the possibilities of producing such products as baby wraps, my personal favorite for carrying children when little.

I’ve thought about how to make a big enough jump in our farming to allow me to not have to work during the “busy” months of summers.  I’ve pondered over what it really would take for neither of us to have to work off the farm.  I’ve pondered whether we really can do what so many people have told us is simply not possible and truly support ourselves and our family on our farm income.  I’ve always thought so but I’m wondering just how close we really are these days.  I’m thinking pretty close.