What’s in a name?

Decided to name our home farm “the Secret Forest Farm” and named each section after a Steinbeck Novel since naming the “East of Eden” garden, which happens to be the most Eastern.

Farm experiments, corn with beans vs corn with manure:

Conclusion corn really likes steer manure, though it did scorch the leaves yellow at first.

The Moon Is Down Greenhouse and Garden:

East of Eden Garden:

The Wayward Bus Garden:

Garden Planning:

Trying to keep track of half an acre has been a challenge for me, coming from a very tiny container garden. Even though I know the details, I find I should be able to understand the whole picture somewhat as well, so that led me to draw it out and give names to the gardens using sketch.io a free drawing software that runs via the internet.

I’m really looking forward to the pumpkins in the Forgotten Village Garden and the flowers there have spouted, I also like the Pearl, which just has clover and a large tree, in the Winter of Our Discontent is just wheat right now, but it’s beautiful to me, the Long Valley has nothing other than the hedge growing in the boarder (Panax), East of Eden just has small trees and more hedge coming in, the Wayward Bus has bamboo and a square foot garden, the Moon is Down is starting to be a proper veggie garden, the Grapes of Wrath has no grapes, but I feel I have to grow some since naming it that, Of Men and Mice has watermelon I’m most looking forward to eating and a grass lawn that seems like it will be nice once it comes in (it’s a huge mud rectangle right now).

I took pictures of the front so far to try to remember what it looks like now and motivate myself that things change, although slowly, they do change.

Ok, writing that I took pictures of the back few gardens so in another season I can really look back and forward though time and see the changes. But I’ll have to upload them later because they are not synced yet…

The garden is a healing thing for me, I enjoy it, but I also doubt myself and struggle between biting off more than I can chew or not even getting started on things I want to do with the aquaponic section or in general. I keep watering so nothing dies, but I could be a lot better about cleaning, pruning and mulching… I haven’t even tried the new mulcher because I need a dry day that I have a baby sitter, both those things seldom occur and rarely occur together, but hopefully the stars will align for this weekend to try the mulcher.

Continuation:

Garden Overviews

Reading to Stay Sane:

I’m trying to transition out of a pandemic funk into whatever the next chapter of life is like… I read a book about goal setting called the Most Powerful Goal Achievement System in the World by Mike Pettigrew, I liked it, I really needed it at this time more than others.

My oldest child graduated preschool with a cute green cap and gown, even though it was only preschool, it’s actually a big thing. Because in the fall she will try school with the other kids and although I will have a two year old at home, it will be different with her gone.

My daughter starting school, my husband shopping for a new house, a lot of changes even after this past year of changes.

So, I’m trying to find peace where I can, within myself, started exercising again with Tai Cheng videos, I like them, it’s Tai Chi in video form with Dr. Mark Cheng.

Still trying to get along better with my daughter, reading her Dragon Mage by ML Spencer, very scary, but very good.

Just finished Loving Someone with Borderline Personality Disorder, a large chunk of both my family and my husband’s family are borderline, so it’s quite helpful, this book teaches you how to do DBT a treatment that can actually help those people and goes a long way for dealing with anyone easier.

I still feel overwhelmed with two kids, I feel like I’m trying to catch my breath and I can’t, but I experience moments of peace, when I play the piano for a few minutes, when I water the plants and notice a change in them, when I write (which I haven’t been) or brainstorm some goals on a note paper. I think right now I have to expand out my moments of peace rather than eliminating stress, because most of parenting, the crying, whining, falling down, cleaning, cooking, serving, being insulted, being interrupted, getting dirty, being exhausted, being dissatisfied, being confused… it’s just pure pain and stress to me.

No matter how I’ve tried to reframe the non-stop servitude, I haven’t succeeded in not being really tired of it all at the end of a real day. I don’t love it, not sure if I ever will. But I do love my kids, I just don’t love the nature of being a parent who does just about everything myself, even though I’m married. It made me mad at my husband at first, when we both worked, now that I don’t work, it makes me sad that the kids don’t get a whole lot of life lessons from him and I don’t get attention, love or a break from him, but at least we get money and at least things are peaceful between us. I’m tired, because I’m parenting for two to two kids, and that’s hard, it’s common, but it’s hard.

It’s been surprising that doing more doesn’t make it worse, doing other things take my mind of the bigger task, which is daunting, thankless, important, and tiring.

“If you plan for one year, plant kalo (taro). If you plan for 10 years, plant koa (a strong, native tree). If you plan for 100 years, teach the children.”

Hawaiian Proverb

I especially love this quote because it ties together my life, gardening veggies (including kalo), trees (including koa) and trying to teach my kids kindness and courage, and the less essential basic skills like reading.

Anyways, that’s life right now, kind of improving, but still off balance, hoping for a brighter future one day at a time.

⛅