Frog Log

Repotting by Lynne Sharon Schwartz The healthy plant outgrows its pot the way a healthy child outgrows its clothes. Don't let it suffer constriction. Spread the Sports or Business section of the New York Times on the dining room table. Find a clay pot big enough for fresh growth. In the bottom place pebbles and shards from a broken pot for drainage. Add handfuls of moist black potting soil, digging your hands deep in the bag, rooting so the soil gets under your fingernails. Using a small spade or butter knife, ease the plant out of its old pot with extreme care so as not to disturb its wiry roots. The plant is naked, suspended from your hand like a newborn, roots and clinging soil exposed. Treat it gently. Settle it into the center of the new pot, adding soil on the sides for support—who isn't shaky, moving into a new home ? Pack more soil around the plant, tapping it down till you almost rea

First trays planted in the greenhouse... and so it begins.   Good friend, neighbor and writer Tom Hines describes the start of a cycle at Frog Holler he has witnessed many times.  Pre Spring                 The boys won’t say much.   They’ll build a wood fire in the green house and plant seeds.   They’ll keep it warm enough over night and water it in the day.   They’ll bring in wood to make heat in the blower stove and try to limit use of propane fuel.   They’ll bring in wood for the boiler which warms water circulating through the thick concrete table top which warms soil trays of planted seeds.   They won’t look at the gauges, they’ll feel the warming concrete table and put a finger in the soil and look at the sprouting green.    They’ll mix soil, maybe some well aged compost and manure , maybe some swamp muck mixed with store-bought soil from the Amish two states away, soil always old and new, a learning blend, rich and lush, filled with hope and new life.

 Lacking a herd of cattle and the accompanying natural fertilizer, we need to find ways to give back to the soil from which we extract so many luscious vegetables. Plans are afoot to harvest our pond weed and cover crops have always figured heavily into our fertility plan. But, for now, our concentrated fertilizer (or "inputs")comes to us in bags on a big truck. Distributed by Ohio Earth Food, near Akron,  it's good stuff - a yummy organic blend of composted poultry manure, dried seaweed, feathermeal, and potash. Three tons of "ReVita-Pro"  arrived on one of our more wintry days in February, and neighbor Tom Hines with his trusty "Bobcat" helped us unload. A steady hand at the wheel. But a heavy load - check out those airborne back tires! Okay, sometimes you need a little ballast! Our friendly truck driver gets a ride. Unloaded and waiting to help us grow!

Happy New Year! The present incarnation of Frog Holler Farm turns 40 years old this year. Watch for a big celebration - maybe August 24-26. Stay tuned!