2004-01-16 - 8:16 a.m.
Well, the apple tree pruning is done and the next big pruning job will be the muscadine grapes. I also have to rebuild the sale room before next years season. The weather has been pretty nice this week but they say it's going to take a turn for the worse starting tomorrow. With that in mind I guess I'll try to get the tractor cranked(it dosen't like cold weather) and go pick up the wood that's been cut and split. They say wood is the most efficent fuel there is because it warms you twice. Once when you cut it and the second time when you burn it. Thats a true statement. On the weekends around here you will see folks with old pickup truks loaded with wood sitting in parking lots of stores. They will sit there all day selling the firewood. Having to cut wood for myself, I have nothing but respect for them. Cutting and splitting wood is a hard job and they earn every penny and really ought to get more than they charge.
The last cold snap we had did in the greens and they're starting to turn brown and dry up. I always plant greens for a cover crop where I'm going to plant corn the next year. I have to get the ground plowed and ready to plant early for corn and the greens almost always die from the cold about now and by planting time they're about rotted away and it is easy to plow the ground. On other parts of the garden I plant rye for a cover crop. It can get 6 feet tall and I have till till it in a month before I intend to plant to give it time to rot so I use it where I will be planting later crops.
There are still some gardeners around here who believe you should turn the ground in the fall and leave it bare. All winter the rain pounds the dirt and lots of soil washes away. I just don't understand why more folks don't use cover crops. They protect the soil from erosion and when they are turned in they add organic matter to the soil making it better. Tilling them in can be a chore but I think the little added aggravation is worth the trouble.
