First Sown

Another poem from the Writers Almanac that I wanted to share.  We plant our peas a bit differently, with a seeder that we push through the soil.  We are almost 2 months past those first plantings, but enjoy the poem.

First sown

by Marge Piercy

Peas are the first thing we plant
always. We lie full length
on the cold black earth and poke
holes in it for the wrinkled
old men of the seeds.

Nothing will happen for weeks.
Rain will soak them, a white
tablecloth of snow will cover
them and be whisked off.
The moon will sing to them:

open, loosen, let the pale
shoots break out. No,
they are pebbles, they sit
in the earth like false teeth.
They ignore the sweet sun.

Then one unlikely day
the soil cracks along miniature
faults and soon baby leaves
stick out their double heads
and we know we shall have peas.


"First sown" by Marge Piercy, from The Hunger Moon: New & Selected Poems, 1980-2010.

I've Sure Enjoyed the Rain

"I've sure enjoyed the rain.  But I'm looking forward to the sun."

-The Dixie Chicks

In the spring I find it is easy to complain about the weather.  It's too wet, and then it seems to cold, too hot, whatever.  What is harder to do is to appreciate the weather and actually work with it.  We can do greenhouse work while the rain pours down outside and when the sun decides to make a cameo appearance, we rush out and prep beds for seeding, seed, and transplant crops.  There is a comfort that the rain has brought to me, after a long and extra snowy winter, it is nice to know that it is now warm enough for rain.  The crops that we have seeded are taking advantage of the rain.  A walk around the farm today brings sights of many small crops popping up out of the soil.  Beets and carrots are thriving in the hoop houses.  Outside spinach, onions, peas, carrots, beets, lettuce and more poke out from underground.  Transplanted lettuce forms solid red and green blocks of color in the field.  Under row cover, which protects crops from damage done by flea beetles and other insects, cabbage, collards and kale are thriving after having been transplanted.  The buds on the trees are turning green and opening up.  The grass is starting to grow, bugs are arriving, birds are singing in the morning.  There is life to be found everywhere.