Why thank you, Mr. Mayor

This morning I was out in the garden incorporating the recommended amendments of sulfur and boron into the soil when the Mayor of Brightwaters parked his car in the road and walked over to the garden fence. I think he came over to tease me about being the first gardener in the neighborhood to be marching happily about in my work boots, bits of leaves and dried grass clinging to my sweatshirt, big smile on my face. We chatted about his growing up in Pennsylvania, and his understanding of my strong desire as a gardener to get outside and working. He has enjoyed watching my garden take shape from the inside of his car as he makes his daily rounds of the village. It is nice to know that so far, he is a fan of my backyard project. Hhhmmm... I wonder how friendly he will be when the big white tent/hoop house goes up.......

Anyhow, I took the tilther out of the garage. It is a great tool for the home gardener, lightweight and powered by a rechargeable power drill. Unlike a roto-tiller, the tilther turns over just the top 2 or 3 inches of soil and was perfect for mixing in the amendments. It is also a great tool for using between plantings as it chops up the roots of the previous plants and leaves the bed clean, smooth, and ready for the next crop. Eliot Coleman, author of "The New Organic Grower" and "The Four Season Harvest" designed it for Johnny's Seeds where you can purchase one for $425.00. You have to purchase the power drill separately, making it a rather costly investment for the home gardener. I used (and probably abused) my tilther at the farm (which was one acre ) for at least 6 years and it is still going strong. It's a great tool if your budget allows.

I added sulfur and boron to the garden this morning as per the soil test results. Having somehow avoided taking even a single chemistry class in school, I know virtually nothing about soil additives and must rely completely on the results of the test. Apparently sulfur is involved in the defense mechanisms of the plants and low sulfur will invite the invasion of insects and disease- yikes! Good thing I got it into the soil before the swarms of locusts arrived. Sulfur is also necessary in the formation of chorophyll. Boron plays an important role in photosynthesis, seed setting, and the viability of pollen.

By the way, remember all the leaves that I chopped into the bed in the fall? Gone. It seems the worms were busy feasting, as there is just loose, crumbly, dark soil left. Boy, am I happy that I did most of the prep work for the garden last fall.