The Return of Grass

As we make our way through Spring, life abounds at Belle Terre Farm.  The trees are filling out forming a green canopy that is ever in motion,  the white blooms of the dogwood peak through the woods, and the grass does what it does best; it grows!  With blueberry bushes in the ground, plans for hundreds of black bean plants in the works and preparations afoot for the arrival of at least two new hives; keeping the grass in check is a priority.  For those who are haven't read our previous posts on http://willowhermitage.wordpress.com you may not be familiar with my old school lawn mower.  Well here it is (eat your heart out John Deere)...

For those who don't know what this is or why I refer to it as a lawn mower, this is a scythe.  Traditionally used for cutting grasses, harvesting grains, etc. the scythe is a highly effective tool for anyone wanting to keep their grass nice and tidy without destroying their micro climate with a gas powered lawn mower.

Here is a picture of the garden rows before mowing...

and here is a picture of the garden rows after mowing

A noticeable difference after only about 30 - 45 minutes with the scythe.  I went ahead and turned under the cover crop and grass clippings in the three rows on the right.  I will start my first planting of black beans next week with these three rows.  The soil is looking better but will still need some work before it is ready for a regular rotation.  Next I will turn under the cover crop and grass on the rows in the center and to the left.  The cover crops were planted much later in these rows and I want to give them a little more time to build up organic matter before turning them in.

Here is a pic of the blueberry bushes before mowing...

and after...

Again, 15 to 20 minutes with the scythe.  Blueberries don't like competition so I decided to put down some weed prevention cloth and mulch to keep the grass down.  I grossly underestimate the amount of mulch required so I only got one of the three rows done.  The bushes seem to be ok though I have limited experience with blueberries.

The next project was to clear the areas for the bees' future home.  I didn't make much progress as it had been raining for a while and I was starting to get tired and knew that I had much to accomplish back at Belle Terre headquarters.  As has become my habit this spring I did take a few minutes to walk our little corner of the world for a nice nature shot.  Here is what I found this trip...

My apologies for the quality of the picture.  I forgot my camera and was taking shots with my phone.  Not sure what kind of flower this is but the white and pink flowers were gorgeous against the green and brown backdrop of the creek bed.

It was a great day and I had much fun.  Every trip is another step forward toward our dream, step after glorious step.

Be Well,

Wayne