Do you still love us?

I really don't understand how other bloggers do it.  I feel tremendous guilt and shame that it has been months since we last posted.  We have laundry, shopping, and other stuff to do, and I suspect other bloggers just phone all that in.  That is why we are lucky to have the expedient of original artwork from one of our friends/customers.  Yes, Tracy, you will rue the day that you ever met me..

In any case, we are back.  This year we couldn't help ourselves and have more -- volume and variety -- than last year.  We're also deeply gratified that so many people (and not just our relatives) are eager to plant our product again.  But wait, a warning to those who suffered through last year's cold and rainy season.

This may be familiar ground (pun intended), but walking all over your garden, especially when the soil is wet,  is one of the worst things you can do for it.  Why?  Well, plant roots need oxygen and your weight compresses the soil, pounding the oxygen out.  That's why rooting plants in water produces fragile root systems for many types of plants -- there isn't much oxygen in water.   The average human being can compact soil up to 75% by just stepping on it, and you only need 20% more for compaction sufficient to build on!  The lesson here is to establish parts of your garden that will not have plants, and to arrange them well so that you won't pull something reaching for something ill-sited