The Dirt is Now in Hand

I'm almost embarrassed to confess how exciting it was to guide the Speedee Delivery driver back toward the barn late last week and unload my almost 20 cubic feet of organic potting/seeding soil I had ordered from Wisconsin.  It is, after all, only potting soil.  But I find myself excited these days by all kinds of treasures I never expected to find titillating -- like chain saws, snow blowers, rain water and arugula; and seed catalogs send me into near paroxysms of delight.  But back to the potting, it was recommended last week by a presenter at the Practical Farmers of Iowa Conference who operates a larger, more developed vegetable farm in northeast Iowa and was sharing strategies for extending the growing season in high tunnels and greenhouses.  He positively raved about this stuff -- and he has shopped around.

So, making a note of the source, I quickly located the Cowsmo website and began reading about the "THE FINEST ORGANIC COMPOST AND POTTING SOIL IN THE MIDWEST".  That, quite understandably, is their own opinion -- and apparently that of the workshop presenter -- but it was enough to garner my order.  Twenty cubic feet may well turn out to be as excessive as it sounds, but last year it seemed like I was forever running out, and I plan to plant well.  Whether or not I will be able to add my voice to the composting accolades will remain to be seen.  How significant is potting soil along the long and tedious road from seeding to salivation -- from planting to picking?  After all, assuming for a moment the shock of a bountiful harvest, how will I know if the credit should go to this habitable seeding matrix, beginner's dumb weather luck, or simply the kiss of a beneficent garden angel?  That said, I figure I will need all the help I can get, and will scatter kudos far and wide should the results be positive.  If high quality starter soil imported from Wisconsin can give me a leg up, why would I squander the opportunity?

And so my dozen bags are neatly stacked in the barn, waiting for the day -- as are my special seeding cups made out dried cow manure -- "Cowpots" (I'm not making this up) -- and, of course, the seeds.  The garden is plotted.  About the only thing left, now that I have assembled all these great tools...


...is learning what to do with it all.  

Even moreso than perusing the seed catalogs, that might be the real work of winter:  reading, reading, reading, and hopefully learning from those who know.