by Mary Houle

All is well on the farm; at least it was when I left for work this morning. As I pulled out of the field access, I waved good-bye to my volunteer for the day who was planting Canada field peas and sunflowers in the two acres he had plowed and harrowed twice earlier in the season. I am thrilled that my brother-in-law Randy loves to drive my tractor, and it is a bonus to me that I can count on him to maintain this Ford as well. Mind you, this is not just any Ford tractor. It is the Jubilee Edition Ford that commemorated a special event: 50 years of Ford tractor history. My father initially bought this tractor when it was 30-years-old to use on our small farmstead. He bought a small plow and a set of harrows as attachments that weigh more than the tractor itself.

For about 10 years, I have planted fields of sunflowers for the "oohs" and "ahhs" of passing motorists, bikers, walkers, and joggers too. When sunflower seeds jumped to an all time high of 50 cents a pound, I scaled back and now I plant only two acres instead of the six I once normally planted during my 11-years of farm ownership. I mix Canada field peas with the sunflowers to organically feed the soil at the same time. Legumes fix nitrogen to the soil and the sunflowers consume it as fertilizer as they both grow together. When done blooming, both are plowed into the soil to serve as a green manure to feed the soil for the next crop. This year oats will be sown as a cover corp. Soil should always be covered (planted), even if only by weeds. Cover crops serve to hold top soil from blowing away and they keep the soil cooler. I asked Vern Gruebinger of UVM Extension Service about the topic and he concurred that it is best to avoid having bare land.

Back to the tractor: I love my dad's 57-year-old tractor (my how time flies). It has a good sound and feel to it. I love driving it and I have taught more than a few people how to drive tractors too. I know how hard my father worked to provide for his family and how hard he worked at farming to make the land provide some of the food for our family. I have added several updated pieces of equipment to the tractor since I bought it: a planter, replacement harrows, another plow, and a raised bed maker, all are used pieces and in great shape. The planter was the one thing that could have simplified things for my dad. I wonder why he never got one before.Because he had an artificial leg, many things were not easy for him, although he never complained. Never. I recall the time he recounted the day he was going into surgery to have his leg amputated. the doctor said to Dad, "You will be able to dance better than you could before." To which Dad replied, "Good. I never could dance before." My father managed to plant all the acres by walking one row after another and dropping each seed by hand. as the gardens grew, the same held true for the garden work; he walked the rows hoeing the weeds out one row after another. For my next farm equipment purchase, I will be looking into buying a mechanical weeder to pull behind the tractor. I'm not complaining: life is still good.
Happy belated Father's Day to all dads.

Mary Houle is a master gardener, master composter, certified Square Foot Gardener instructor, and SOUL graduate. Houle completed the UVM master gardener training 10 years ago and has just completed the UVM Extension Master Gardener certification process again. Additionally, she recently completed a six-hour training program and exam to qualify as a First Detector related to plant health issues.