My friend sent me a text message a few days ago, "You know the saying, you can't see the forest for the trees?" I knew what he was saying, "I can't see your taters, for the weeds." so yesterday we loaded up the fam and set out to do some billing and weeding. Little did I know there would be a jungle.
BEFORE:
It took us five hours of hand weeding--the trusty hoe could not be used. The girls were interested in helping, but that is where it stopped--they played. The taters were doing great once we got past the jungle.
AFTER:
Weeding is always on the top of my list of things to do, but it seems to get ignored. However once I am doing it, I find it deeply interesting. My mind gets a chance to wander in ways it doesn't usually. The last few big weeding sessions, I've been thinking about how much my vegetables need me and how much I need them. The weeds are a part of that process of needing and cultivating; they aren't the enemy, just part of the caring process. I suppose the weeds keep my "sowing eyes" from getting bigger than my stomach for hoeing.
Wow! That was a lot of work. I'm glad you're able to turn all that labor into a kind of helpful meditation. Maybe I should try to do the same thing when I weed our carrot row this Saturday. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment! My wife and I are still sore BTW We always plant too many carrots, too close--do you have any planting "tricks?" Our over sowing seems to make thinning really hard.
ReplyDeleteWe do the same thing. Several blogs out there talk about using seed mats. We've never tried it. Check out the address below and let me know what you think.
ReplyDeletehttp://annieskitchengarden.blogspot.com/2009/09/september-22-2009-home-made-seed-mat.html