It’s been a very long time since any musings from the farm
have reached the outside world. Rustles of spring turned into full-blown
spring, with an earlier start to field work than the past several years. A
snowstorm on May 6 brought a foot of snow, which was quite upsetting at the
time since it meant a forced break of almost a week. Little did we know then
that this would prove to be a blessing in the long run, even though we have had
this experience more than once over the thirty-odd years we have been farming
in Alberta.
Rain has been sparse, to put it mildly, and conditions are
very, very dry. The fact that the crops are still hanging in, that things are
not yet a total disaster, is due only to the unwelcome snow at the beginning of
May.
In a year like this things don’t tend to go smoothly in the
garden either. Cutworms can do a lot of damage since they tend to bury deep
into the dry soil instead of lingering on the surface like they do in a wetter
year. Thus they avoid becoming easy prey for robins and other birds and can do
their dirty deeds night after night. It didn’t take long for the nicely emerged
first lettuce, spinach and carrots to be completely eradicated, followed by a good
portion of the peas and some cucumbers, but also all of the volunteer dill I
had left standing. I reseeded and gave the garden a good soaking with the
sprinkler for a few days to help the new seeds along, with much better success.
Now we have finally started to eat salad fresh from the garden, and the first
ever-so-sweet potatoes should be ready next week.
Yet water is needed badly, its lack apparent in the height
of hollyhocks and other perennials, but also in the much smaller apple and
cherry crops. The lawn is dry, lush green long since having turned into tan and
brown where the soil is thin. Only the fruit trees Carl and I planted show a
circle of green around them where we watered. They must have appreciated it,
because apples, pears and apricots, arriving as dry sticks, their bare roots
wrapped in cedar shavings, have green leaves by now. Will these “exotic” trees
ever produce fruit in this harsh climate? Supposedly they are bred to withstand
the rigors of our zone 3 growing conditions, albeit with much smaller fruit
size than in more gentle climes, and I am very excited at the prospect of
eating fresh pears or apricots right from our back yard someday.
In June we spent two weeks away from the farm, visiting
family and friends in Germany and taking part in a wonderful week-long bike
trip in the Palatinate along the German Wine Street with Johann’s brothers and
several of his cousins.
Tomorrow we are embarking on another bike trip with
relatives and friends, this time right here in Alberta. Like last year it will
be a ‘cycleforward’ adventure with our niece Trina, and we very much look
forward to getting to know another part of our home province by bike. Here is
the link to the website with our schedule and a map:
