‘The beautiful, dark earth was crying for seeds’

Ihope you were able to enjoy that beautiful weather last week. The lady that lives with me told me not to do it, that it was too early, and that I would regret it. But, I plowed and planted the garden last week. I didn’t have a plan or a schedule. I went out Monday morning and started fooling around with the big tiller, and the first thing I knew I had worked up all the raised beds. The ground looked pretty good, so I got the small tiller and went over the ground again.

By the time I finished with that, all I could think of was the line of Henry David Thoreau’s, “The pork sizzles and cries for fish.” It seemed to me that the beautiful, dark earth was crying for seeds. So, I stopped the tilling and headed straight for the co- op. I got 10 pounds of Kennebec potatoes, a pound of yellow onions, some Wando peas, salad bowl lettuce and some radishes. I had a pretty good handful of beet seeds left from last year, so I decided to risk it and use those.

I know it’s probably too early, and March is such a fickle month, but that warm weather was calling my name. And, to tell you the truth, my dad always liked to get his potatoes in the ground by St. Patrick’s Day, so it wasn’t that early. And then, for more confirmation that I had done the right thing, I ran into Ray Coffey towards the end of the week and he told me he had planted some onions, so I think I am in pretty good company. Now, if it snows I may feel differently, but, at the time, it sure felt right.

Speaking of digging in the dirt, we have at our house the worst infestation of moles I think I have ever seen. The yard is torn up, and even out in the field, around the wood pile and the little out- buildings, the mole ridges are so high you almost trip over them. I know the lawnmower blade is going to hit them, and that will make a terrible mess.

I have heard so many stories about how to deal with moles. My brother-inlaw sets traps in his yard, but that doesn’t seem to be the full answer. I have been told that you need to get a granular insecticide and spread it over the lawn, the idea being to kill the insects and bugs, and the moles leave because there is nothing for them to eat. My bride is very particular that we don’t do something that will injure or harm the songbirds in any way, but I am about ready to try anything that looks promising. They are as bad or worse in our daughter’s yard, so it is not just our house.

I am hoping some smart reader of this column will have the definitive answer and let me know what it is. I saw a big lawn roller at the co-op in Front Royal the other day, the kind you fill with water and pull around behind your lawn mower. I wondered if that might be part of the solution. I suspect, however, the moles would re-tunnel and all I would wind up with is my own super-size whack-amole game and be forever mashing down mole hills. I would rather have a more permanent solution.

Here’s hoping all your problems are mole hills, and you are able to handle them before they become mountains. Stay well, and enjoy the warmer weather.

I have heard so many stories about how to deal with moles. My brother-in-law sets traps in his yard, but that doesn’t seem to be the full answer.