We bought a tiller!
I've talked before how we are not ones to eschew technology in favor of the "purity" of hand tilling and old school organic farming so it might surprise you that we just bought our first tiller last weekend!
A very happy John tilling the 40% of our garden we had yet to plant due to the need to till!
For those 'in the know' of homesteading and organic farming, we HAVE been sheet mulching but this is only our third growing season and the soil still has a way to go until it's as rich and pliable as we would like.
Because of the super wet spring, the time intensive task of tilling took even longer than usual. In prior years, I had punted tilling to John and then just swept in for the satisfying tasks of planting, transplanting, weeding, and harvesting. My excuse? Our first spring, my mother had just died. The second spring, I had a wee Gabe who would only nap on me for the first 7 months of his life. So I was eager to get more into the manual labor this our third spring at Sfumato.
But last week after I hand tilled three beds (4'x17' each) myself?! I came storming into the house in a pregnant tizzy and asked John why he hadn't [insert expletive] asked to buy a tiller yet!
Bless him, he knew I was keen on getting rid of our debt (with the exception of our mortgage and one of my student loans that is at 1.8% interest) and didn't think I would approve of such a large purchase.
Normally yes. But given how much of our spring we lost to the wet and how much more I value our time now, I said, "Get thee to Lowes!"
(tiller purchase = further proof I love my husband?)
Needless to say, John was pretty stoked. After some research, he picked the Troy Bilt Bronco Axis (208cc engine) tiller. Hopefully with good care, this puppy will last us 10 years.
Now the boys and I are off to plant some potatoes and sweet potatoes in some freshly tilled, composted, and raked beds on this beautiful afternoon!
Be sure to follow me on Instagram for more frequent garden updates and pictures of my adorable boys.
Do you have a gardening instagram? I'm especially fond of ones that include little garden helpers like mine - leave your instagram handle in the comments!