Solstice on Iowa's Smallest Farm

Solstice on Iowa's Smallest Farm

Spring is here, or at least near, and I took a chance on putting some seeds in the ground of my "garden annex," another bed next to last year's Smallest Farm. Catnip is pretty cold-hardy so that was no big deal. I also tossed out a few seeds from packets that dated back two or more years to the garden that never happened, just to see if some carrots, lettuce, spinach or onions will volunteer.

The Smallest farm now has a half dozen cloves of garlic in the ground, surrounding a spot that's designated for a tomato plant. But the real harbinger of spring is twenty little potted pea seeds, in old yogurt cups. I can haul them in if we get a hard freeze. Everyone says you can't transplant legumes but I've always had great luck with it. Built my fence and figured out how to cram more bushels per acre into the Smallest Farm.

I'm going to try beans again this year, just to see if I have better luck.

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I just tracked down a piece of music that's eluded me for years: the nine minute extended version of "Bluebird" by Buffalo Springfield. It was only on a long-deleted double album compilation that I used to bring in myself to play on my college radio show. They didn't even put in on the box set. Neil Young and Stephen Stills, barely out of their teens, sound like they're playing about a hundred guitars each all at once.

Iowa | Music