Race Against Rain







Normally, Tony plants the garden on Good Friday.  This year Easter is coming really late, April 24th. There are many people who go by the signs or moon phases to plant.  But, Tony has the holiday off work so it's a good chance to have enough day light to plow, lay off the rows and plant the seeds.  This spring we have had some rainy days and the soil has stayed wet.  Over the last week there have been a few dry days and tonight the weather man is calling for tornado warnings, so, today, April 15th, he took a half-day of vacation and planted the garden.

It takes work to prepare the soil for planting.  Because the ground has been left alone all winter, he uses a rip plow to break up the ground.  It is a big piece of equipment that looks like a hook.  He puts it on the tractor and rips up the ground, hence the name.  He then puts on the John Deere tiller and plows over the garden two or three times.  The thines on the tiller pulverize the soil and make it soft enough so that the seed can be pushed into the ground and the small plant can push its way up.

The next part is what I love.  Tony uses his daddy's 1956 Farm-All tractor to lay off the rows.  This year we will have 16 rows.  This tractor is a life saver and a back saver as you will see later on in the spring and summer.  You know the saying "they don't make them like they used to", it is refering to the farm-all.  After being in the shed all winter, it cranked on the first turn.  Granny and I always celebrate when the farm-all cranks!