Fingers in the Soil
Back in my happy-place
“I’m going to be relying on you pretty heavily this season.” Marion told me. “We’ve decided to give up our garden and instead do some container plants on the deck. It’s just too much work for us now and too little return.”
It felt good to hear this from a former member of Runamuk’s farm-share program. My heart warmed to know that I am indeed making some kind of difference in my community. After eliminating the CSA program in favor of the farmstand, I’ve been concerned over my own inconsistency. Yet, despite the financial stress that comes of the transition, I still believe this change will work better for the farm in the long-run. Get yourself a cuppa and join me at Runamuk Acres for the latest update!
Welcome to the latest Updates From the Farm! If you are new here, I invite you to check out my About page to learn what this is, who I am and why I am doing this. Or just dive right in! At “Runamuk Acres” you’ll find the recantings of one lady-farmer and tree-hugging activist from the western mountains of Maine. #foodieswanted
As much as I love Maine’s autumn foliage spectaclaire, I love spring even more. This is when the landscape comes to life. When the trees emerge from their winter dormancy to unfurl pristine new leaves, the forest understory comes alive, and the grasses and flowers burst forth under the rain and sun. Every passing storm and shower breathes life into the Earth, and every day is a marvel no matter the weather.
Finishing Projects
We’re switching gears this week to begin the work of bringing our electric fences online for the season, so last week was spent finishing up some ongoing projects. The mulching of fruit trees, construction of cold-frames, spreading manure laid last fall and preparing beds for planting.
Beebe’s Birthday
My girl, Beebe, turned 4 on Sunday. Fully healed from her surgery back in March, Beebe’s loving that we’ve finally been able to resume our daily field-visits with the car. I confess, I feel more myself─whole, perhaps?─when this is part of my routine.
It wasn’t so long ago that I was essentially homeless, living out of my car. I became accustomed to having little car-parties parked in some out of the way spot. With the hatch open on my Subaru hatch-back, I’d sit in the back of the car, jamming to the radio as I write, sketch or daydream. Other times I would sit with a beer and my banjo with Murphy sniffing about.
It’s become part of me and I still enjoy a good “car-party”─usually at the back of the field. Still close enough to civilization to feel safe, but far enough away to feel free from society’s constraints. I am a wild-woman and maybe just a little feral…
Now that the back acreage has finally dried up, I’m able to take the car back there, and both Beebe and I revel in the feeling of freedom that comes with our daily or twice-daily field-visits. Going on 11 now, Murphy still enjoys these outings, though his endurance has waned and usually he is ready to go long before Beebe or I have tired of it.
On Blackstone Mountain
It was scary to publish the first piece of my WIP novel: On Blackstone Mountain, but now that it’s done I feel really good about it. I didn’t realize how many people were looking forward to reading my story! That’s pretty special and I thank you for such a gift.
In retrospect, I feel like I should have used the subtitle Locking Out the World as the post-title, rather than just Prologue. It’s a little different to write for serialization than it is for standard publication and I’m open to any feedback you might have─all I ask is that you be compassionate, lol.
“On Blackstone Mountain”_Chapter 1 drops: 6.7.2024
Planting, planting, planting
With so many responsibilities, I can’t spend all day every day in the garden. Usually I can give it a chunk─a morning or an afternoon. Sometimes both.
In the larger Garden 2, with the help of my 17yo son, BraeTek, I’ve laid another swath of black plastic to smother crab-grasses threatening to take over a section there. We re-positioned a couple lengths of landscape fabric to better protect the fruit trees planted in the front corner of that garden. And I’ve spread a LOT of manure.
Pushing to get my early-season cold-crops in the ground as quickly as possible, I’ve planted:
Scallions
Lettuces
Radishes
Kale
Broccoli
Cabbage
Onions
BraeTek has planted 3 rows of snap peas and is on track to sow a second round next week.
Where my growers at?
Do you grow vegetables? House plants?
What are you looking forward to growing this season?
Notes
Please note the following changes to the Runamuk Substack:
*Weekly updates are now released on Fridays for you to enjoy over the weekend.
*New posts will be available for two weeks before being archived behind the paywall, so be sure to read or listen to new posts when they come into your inbox.
*The archives at runamukacres.com/blog/ will remain open.
*NEW! Q&A sessions via chat for the first 30-minutes after a new post goes live. Subscribers (free and paid) can comment or ask questions and receive prompt reply during this time. After the 30-minutes, you can still comment on the post or in chat, of course─just expect a reply as soon as I can get to it.
Fingers in the Soil
The garden is my happy-place─the work almost spiritual. Fingers in the soil, the pungeant odor of earth and microbial life intoxicating my senses, this is what I am meant to do.
Since I was 16 I’ve been growing, learning what works for me and what doesn’t. After 27 years working with plants and nature, I’ve developed my own methods and I can grow a surprising amount of food for one solo-farmer. Something is telling me things are really going to come together this season and I am so stoked for it.
Much love to you and yours, my friends!
Your friendly neighborhood farmer,
Sam
Thank you for following along with the story of this lady-farmer! It is truly a privilege to live this life serving my family and community, and protecting wildlife through agricultural conservation. Check back soon for more updates from the farm, and be sure to follow @RunamukAcres on Instagram or Facebook!
