If we’re being honest, I’m treading water. My heart is on the homestead, but my body still needs to be at work for another month. I chip away at various tasks with every spare moment, well aware that soon I’ll be able to do in a day what currently takes a week. I’m itching to dive in to the big projects and make serious progress, but settling for the little ones that can be accomplished in a Saturday afternoon.
As a reminder, I organize my week’s accomplishments according to my ultimate goals for this homestead property. Here’s what I’ve been working on lately:
Aesthetic Utility
Finding someone to install a garden fence has been an unexpected challenge. I ultimately decided to hire this job out because I realized the fence needed to be buried for groundhog and mole control, and that was going to require either a lot of time that I don’t have, or heavy machinery that is beyond my interest and current capability. (A helpful nudge came from the IRS; the tax credits from my home energy upgrades last year – wood stove, solar panels, and mini splits – generated an unexpected tax return, giving me the funds to pour into this project.)
I have had several companies come out for a site visit. One guy said, “Well, it doesn’t have to be pretty, right?” so I knew that we weren’t on the same page. Another guy took three weeks to get me a quote, so I moved on. Several companies simply failed to get back to me at all. But I finally have a company lined up that really sees the vision and is charging a super fair price.
In the meantime, I’ve been keeping the area mowed and have begun laying out tarps to kill the grass. I wish I had started the tarps sooner, but to be honest, it never crossed my mind. I will ultimately put down cardboard beneath several inches of compost and then several inches of mulch on top of that, but I have accepted that I will be fighting weeds and field grass until the end of time.
I also had a plumber out for quotes on a few projects (including swapping my obnoxious double basin sink for a single basin) and talked to him about running a water line. We decided that it would make the most sense to run a water line about 6 inches deep from the house to the garden; while this will not be frost-free, I will be able to avoid both a hefty trenching cost and damaging the roots of the nearby ancient maple tree. I will need to blow it out each winter, similar to an irrigation system. Despite having to dig the trench myself, I’m VERY excited to avoid the ~$10k bill that a fancy frost-free waterline would require.
I finally – finally – feel like this is starting to fall into place.
Food Production
I have been productive with various small tasks. In the orchard, I swapped the winter insulators with mesh guards.
In other tree news, I planted an impulse-purchased Dwarf Everbearing Mulberry tree into a pot, where it will live until later this summer. While planting, I discovered a secret bonus seedling, which justifies the purchase. I also acquired a Bonanza Peach, a novelty dwarf tree that I’ve had my eye on for a couple of years. It will also live in a pot for a while, or possibly forever.
I up-potted many of the tomato seedlings (although there’s plenty more to do); they are in their final home before being transplanted into the ground. I also mounded the potatoes, which are exploding with foliage.
Moving Forward
I am equal parts nervous and excited for the garden installation; once done, I will spend many days hauling compost, laying cardboard, and installing beds around the perimeter before the real fun can begin. It will be overwhelming and exhausting. Last year, at around this time, I was overwhelmed and exhausted too – hauling boxes, scraping popcorn ceiling, painting. I’d much rather this than that.
I wonder what I’ll be overwhelmed and exhausted about next year…
Talk soon,
KC