Growing with the Flow

Here we are, on the rainy, first day of a new Gregorian calendar year. Despite the calls for new beginnings, new goals, and new intentions, the land, water, and sun around us tell us that we are still right in the middle of something. The soil is as cool as it gets here, the welcomed rain feeds the roots of the collards, potatoes, garlic, beets, and carrots that we managed to get planted in the ground this fall, and winter in the California Bay is in its fullness. The call on this day of new year celebrations is towards reflection. 

This inaugural year has been about discovery, flexibility, problem solving, and the joy of sowing and reaping. In August, we sat on the earth, preparing to build our first greenhouse, and we prayed that our labor would be fruitful and serve many. We have been at work these last months building two greenhouse, hauling compost and mulch down the El Sobrante hillside, cultivating twelve rows of vegetable crops, planting, covering, and tending. We’ve deterred critters, hungry for their own abundance. We have repaired part of our greenhouse, damaged in the exceptionally strong winds. The solid Chevy S10 pick-up truck we purchased needed a few attempts at TLC before it was ready to roll, and the inground crops are slow growing in the cold.