Earth has not anything to show more fair
“Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty”
Call me a dreamer. Call me a sadster. Tell me I need to get out more.
But hey, really. Is there anything more gorgeous than a neatly trimmed, manured, freshly dug vegetable plot?
I won’t call you anything. But there is lots of things more gorgeous than that empty desert of a plot. Like a beautuful garden with loads of winter veg in it. Parsnips waiting to be lifted, leeks galore, varieties of multicoloured kale, a big root clamp still half full, broccolli just bursting, overwintered lettuce and salads of all kinds, broad beans ready to flower, artichokes in abundance, wintergreens and collards…the list goes on and on. This is a sad empty desert of a plot. Sorry Soilman. Not a gorgeous site at all.
February 6th, 2010 at 10:43 am
Wow. Fuck me, passerby. That’s telling me.
Perhaps I should have shown you the other part of my plot with the parsnips (check), leeks (check), carrots (check), celeriac (check), Jerusalem artichokes (check) and broccoli (check)?
Ah well. Can’t keep all the folk happy all the time, huh?
February 6th, 2010 at 10:48 am
Looks lovely to me; my soil is still frozen solid (even in the greenhouse) and it will be weeks before it looks like yours. Hope the aches and pains associated with all that work wear off soon!
February 6th, 2010 at 11:03 am
It’s tough gardening in Canada, Amanda! We have it embarrassingly easy…
February 6th, 2010 at 11:15 am
It’s perfect. Hopefully mine will look a bit like that by the end of the weekend…..
February 6th, 2010 at 11:20 am
I wish mine looked like that. It’s still far too wet to get any serious digging done.
February 6th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
You have a right to feel proud…
I would be as chuffed as a dog with 3 bollocks if my area looked like that !
February 6th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
Gorgeous, rich soil just waiting to be planted in. Sometimes the anticipation of sexy veg romping away is better than the real thing. Oh tingles of excitment, well done you!
February 6th, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Soilman, now we’ve seen the plot, could we see a photo of your shed? Outside would be okay – maybe you could dare to show us inside, too.
February 7th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Oo-er, Simon. There’s a reason I don’t show inside my shed. It’s a bloody war zone.
OK, then. In keeping with this blog’s principle of absolute honesty – no matter how grim the truth – I’ll show you. But promise not to laugh.
February 8th, 2010 at 8:46 am
I agree that I actually prefer this time of year – a clear plot; anticipation of the coming year – as the actual fruition of my veg growing is normally a complete disappointment, full of failures…dull dull dull. At least this time of year, I can dream of what lush and fruitful produce my plot would hopefully produce…..Cat (sobbing into my cup of tea…) (is this SAD from the other day…?)
February 8th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
I know exactly what you mean, Cat. As with all of life’s (supposed) pleasures, the anticipation is always better than the reality.
In the dark and cold of February, I fill my empty plot with my imagination. It’s alive with every kind of healthy, juicy, improbably sized fruit and veg… a torrid comparison with the stunted, mildewed, bug-eaten, blighted fuck-up that often results.
February 8th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
That looks like a decent day’s work! I bet the beer tasted sweet that night!
February 9th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
No, it’s looks wonderful! I hate when people say how they “hate the look of just dirt”, I just really don’t understand those people.
February 9th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Ps – compliments to swearing in your blog. The “fuck me” was a nice added touch!
February 10th, 2010 at 12:08 am