Sunday, April 24, 2016

Gardening in the Rain


Sunday, April 24.  Garden planting day at Roshara.  Cloudy. 50 degrees.  Good day for working.  Great day for planting the early crops at our Waushara County farm.

First came the row marking, using a wooden, hand-pulled marker that my father made some 35 years ago.  Thirty-inch rows.  Lots of room for the rototiller to maneuver.

The crew was of two minds—one the optimist: the sun will come out and the temp will climb into the 70s.  The other a realist: no sun, and by 10:00 a.m. it will rain and keep raining.

Ready to plant—a big pail of Kennebec seed potatoes, enough for a dozen long rows.  A small pail of Red Norland red potatoes—a row and a half.  Red onion sets, white onion sets: enough for a row of each.  Snap peas—a couple of long rows.  Spinach, carrots, radishes, Swiss chard, lettuce.  Short rows of each.

First row of potatoes planted.  All going well.  Second row—first rain drops.  Third row—a steady rain.  Not a pouring down, cat and dog down pour, but a cold, ornery, wet spring rain.  Sometimes heavier, sometimes lighter—but never stopping.  And we didn’t stop either, but continuing planting until the work was done.  One of the advantages of sandy soil—no mud.  Just inconvenience.

The realist doesn’t let up on the poor optimist who continues to believe that the sun will eventually shine.  And it will of course.  But not likely on this day.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: When it’s time to plant the garden, plant the garden.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Writing Workshops for 2016

Telling Your Story Workshop at Wild Rose Library, Saturday June 11, 9-4. Call 920-622-3835 to get your name on the list as enrollment is limited. (Class is filled)
Telling Your Story Workshop at The Clearing in Door County.  Friday, August 12, 9-4.  Call 920-854-4088 to get your name on the list. (Still Room)

UPCOMING EVENTS.

May 14, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Booksigning, Dregne’s, Westby.

May 26, 7:00 p.m. Richfield Historical Society, 4128 Hubertus Road, Richfield, WI  Whispers and Shadows.

June 7, 7:00 p.m. Cambria Library. Cambria Fire Dept. Community Center, Cambria.

June 11, 9-4 Writing Workshop, Wild Rose Library.  Telling Your Story

June 14, 9:00 a.m. Keynote speech. Country Heritage Day, St. John the Baptist Church, Montello. Barns of Wisconsin.

July 19, 11:00 a.m., Farm Technology Days, Snudden Farms, Lake Geneva, Walworth County. History of Wisconsin Agriculture.

August 9, 6:30 p.m.. Evening. Winnebago County Historical Society.  Oshkosh Library.  History of Wisconsin Agriculture.

August 12 9-4, Writing Workshop, The Clearing, Door County.

August 20, 10:30-11:30 am.  Waupaca Annual Arts on the Square. 

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fundraiser for them): 

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs:
 Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps (based on The Quiet Season book.)
 Jerry Apps a Farm Story (based on Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm books.)

 The Land with Jerry Apps, (based on the book Whispers and Shadows.)
Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including: Jerry’s newest novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County. and Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
Contact the library for prices and special package deals.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835








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