Spring At Last

This was the first day at the farm that truly felt like Spring in Nevada is supposed to feel. The temperature topped 80 degrees by afternoon, and the air was bone dry with not a cloud to be seen.

May is perhaps the busiest month out at Custom Gardens, with the exception of harvest time. Today we spent time laying irrigation line into the future melon patch, rid ourselves of water-stealing weeds among the always resilient raspberries, and spread a little compost in preparing winter squash beds. As Summer approaches and the Great Basin starts to heat up like an oven, work must be started earlier so that it can be concluded as soon after noon as possible; after that, the heat is too stressful on plant and human alike.

The farm is begining to blossom and grow, but right now it still only hints at the abundance that it will eventually provide. Strawberries are coming in, tiny nubs that will become apples and cherries have begun to appear on their respective trees, and most exciting to me, the grapes look poised for an especially nice year. Right now most of the farm is still bare and brown, but I know what the summer and fall will bring, and that provides motivation.

Click on the link at the left to check out Custom Gardens' website.