Promises from the Past

I came across some pictures from 2007.  We did not yet have our own digital camera, but someone loaned us one for a couple of days and we took some pictures of the farm as it was on around May 10 of that season.  The fields in the north plots were prepared and we already had some things taking off - like the peas.  And we were already seeding in things, like the cucurbits (vine crops) because, at that time, we did not transplant those items - we direct seeded them.

Our biggest piece of equipment?  A lawn tractor.  If I recall correctly, we had just purchased a tiller attachment for that tractor - which was a huge expenditure at the time.  And, it was the first year our farm reached its "full size" in terms of acreage in vegetable production (5 acres).

There was no high tunnel here.  Valhalla (our larger high tunnel) now resides in the area that would be on the left of the two pictures above.  The bushes at the left and in front are no where near their current height and density.  Though I must admit they are looking pretty good in these pictures.  

I remember that we had minimal trouble with weeds for these particular bushes because we started with a blank slate.  This land had been row cropped prior to our arrival, so there was no need for us to remove any plant matter.  And, I distinctly remember how we collected leaves from any of our CSA customers who would provide them to us so we could mulch all five hundred feet of these bushes during the first Fall they were present on the farm.  

I'll tell you what - it worked like a charm.  I wish some of our other planting took off like this one did.

But, we couldn't always spend the time it took to gather truckloads of leaves from individuals, haul them to the farm, spred them out...  

Well, you get the idea.

As I look at these pictures, I find myself dealing with a host of feelings.

Pride in hard work and real effort.

A desire to go back and try to tell our former selves about some of the things we know now that would have been so good to know then.

Regret that we aren't going to do things like that again - and relief that we aren't going to do things like that again.

Amazement that the farm looked like that then - and it is so different now.

I see evidence of consistency and change in this picture.  We were already intercropping peas with the cucumbers at that time.  We were already seeding and encouraging clovers to grow in the paths that we would walk and drive between the growing plots.  And, we believed in providing for diversity and habitat for pollinators and beneficial critters on our farm.

And I still see the promise of good harvests and tasty food when I see these pictures.

Thank you for reading today's blog post.  I hope you had a decent week and that your weekend brings you the restoration you might need.