[Haven] We Have a Farm - Now What?
Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2021 7:09 am
Arc 721, 70 Ymiden
Herman and the cadouri left the trial prior, leaving Haven a little less colorful and bright. Their presence had filled the lives of the settlers with something that was hard to explain, but Elisabeth felt it as well. The cadouri were a gift to Idalos, and even the young settlement leader missed their cheerful spirit. There was an idea forming in the back of her mind of something she wished to do in relation to that, but first things first.
The Munny Farmhouse and barn were complete, and by Edward’s estimation, there was just enough time left in the growing season to get in a quick round of crops. Faldrass’ warm sand and fertile soil were factors in their favor that Elisabeth already had a good deal of experience in from her adventures at the old settlement site. Now that the structures were completed, it was time to get back to one of the things she knew how to do – gardening. That wasn’t to say that she knew a lot, but Elisabeth knew far more about gardening than she did woodworking or engineering.
It was odd when she thought about it really. Before coming to Faldrass, she hadn’t known anything about many of the skills she possessed now. Fieldcraft, cooking, gardening – all were new to her. And leadership, which was a big one. The learning curve had been steep and rapid for Elisabeth, and never seemed to ease up. The addition of woodworking and engineering was welcome, but it also made her wonder what was next.
Walking out to the farm, Elisabeth looked back to find her shadow, Sir Storm of Haven. Storm had finally forgiven her for the perceived transgressions that occurred during the final days of the farm build. He really did love her, after all. His girl was the best servant he could have hoped for. She let him sleep on the bed with her when the other one was away. She gave him small bites of her food when it was something he could eat. She even brushed him sometimes when they were sitting on the warm sand.
Following closely behind, there was another reason he was so carefully tracking her movements. His girl had recently started carrying a bag that contained lots of things in it. He was sure she had snacks in there and if he could just get close enough, perhaps he could steal take one! That was the plan at least, and besides she, he was confident, would be happy knowing he was self-sufficient enough to help himself!
Smiling, Elisabeth waved at the small group assembled outside the farmhouse, picking up her pace. "Apologies all," she began. "I had a small fire I had to put out this morning that delayed me." Edward stepped forward to greet the young settlement leader, giving her a polite nod. It was his way really. Edward wasn't so much with words, but with Elisabeth, he made exceptions. She had seen her promise to him through to the end, and that meant something to him and his family. Their relationship with the settlement of Haven was still evolving in a positive direction, but the family's personal relationship with Elisabeth herself was solid.
Nodding in return to the farmer, she gave Edward a smile. "Are you, Jolene, William and Delilah settling in alright? Is there anything else the settlement can do to help?" Shaking his head gently, he replied in a deep voice. "Everything has been moved, thanks to the settlers who all help. The barn has been sorted with tools and supplies and all the seedlings we managed to start have been brought here as well. Jolene and Delilah will join us when we are ready to start planting. They thought it was best to use the time to sort out the farmhouse while they had some time." Elisabeth smiled again. "Of course. Ronan and Balder will be along shortly to help break ground on the fields with us. What's the plan?"
Edward turned, pointing out the strings that outlined the three fields, which had been placed when the settlers were scouting out the farm site. "I figure with the help we have, one field a trial is doable. We need to break ground and get the soil ready for planting. Turning up the soil allows air into it. It's a good thing it hasn't rained recently - never turn wet soil. It will just compact as it dries and defeats the purpose."
Continuing, he pointed to each specific field as he spoke their purpose. "A fruit, vegetable and wheat field. Luckily, all three require similar nutrients, which we have ready in buckets." Along with Edward and his son William, Kenwyn, Osric and Derec were present to help, and Elisabeth turned to see her two wayward guards making their way to the farm. Grinning, she called out to Balder and Ronan. "Nice for you two to show up. We aren't waiting for you or anything...." Ronan grumbled something that she was sure she didn't want to hear based on Balder's punch to his shoulder after saying it. Ronan wasn't a morning person. At all.
Edwin directed everyone to grab shovels and spades and focus on the first field, nearest to the house. "Let's turn up half the dirt first. Once we are halfway, a few can break off and begin adding the amendments to the soil." The small group agreed and began on the north side of the field. The soil of Faldrass, as they already knew, was extremely amenable to growing things. Breaking into the ground was relatively easy, and Elisabeth quickly began preparations to use defiance to dislodge some of the smaller rocks out of the field. The moment she put down her shovel and held out her hands, however, a chorus of "NOOOOOO!" burst forth from almost every settler present.
Startled, Elisabeth jumped just a little, looking at the settlers with a questioning glance. Ronan spoke up quickly, happy to be able to fire back something snappy at her after she made him get up so early. "No magic for you, missy!" Arching her eyebrow at Ronan in response, he simply grinned and amended his comment. "Settlement leader missy, I mean." Balder rolled his eyes a bit, following up the other man's comments. "We can throw the rocks out of the field just fine, Elisabeth. No need for your magic." Damn, she thought to herself. They were still being protective of her. Elisabeth had thought that things would settle down since the building part of the farm project was done but it seemed that some tendencies lingered longer than others.
Sighing softly, she smiled, nodding, holding up her hands. "No magic then..."
Well, almost no magic.
Grinning, she made a quick motion with her hand, summoning wind to twirl around Ronan for a moment, messing up his hair just a bit. The moment the wind hit him, he quickly looked her direction and grumbled, but his lips settled into a smirk, bending and giving the settlement leader a dramatic bow. Elisabeth had won this round, but there were many more to be had in the future.
While everyone's attentions were focused on the work, Storm was getting into trouble. Unfortunately for Elisabeth, she had left her bag open, and the feline, knowing there were snacks in the bag, had gone to investigate. Shoving his nose in the bag, he smelled something delicious, pulling out a small bit of smoked fish. Laying down next to the bag, he quickly polished off that morsel and dug his nose back in for more. It was then that he noted something shiny. Curious, he grabbed onto the item and pulled it out of the bag. Whatever it was, it was beautiful and he decided that he liked it very much.
As everyone worked, Ronan looked up and noted Storm dragging what appeared to be a silver hair ornament across the ground. Arching his eyebrow, he continued to watch the procession until Storm vanished into a grouping of trees, only to reappear a moment later and head straight back for Elisabeth's bag. Chuckling to himself, he decided to go back to work, choosing not to say anything to the young woman about her cat's antics. Her problem, since she was the one that had left the bag open in the first place.
The soil of Faldrass was laced with a good portion of warm orange sand, which Elisabeth already knew was a key element. They had grown healthy seedlings in warm sand frames at the old Haven site, which had transferred to their new location. Edward had prepared several buckets worth of orange sand, harvested from the beach of Haven. As well, there were buckets of wood ash from campfires, vegetable scraps collected from the settlers and oddly enough, coffee grounds from the research station. Elisabeth looked at Edward upon noticing the coffee grounds, giving a bit of a confused smile. He patiently explained the purpose of all the soil amendments to her. "Wood ash contains calcium. Vegetable scraps contain various nutrients that are returned to the soil as they decompose, and the coffee grounds contain nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. All those things are already present in the ground in varying degrees, but added more in is just smart gardening. It builds the soil since we will be continuing to add more over time. Eventually, once the farm grows, we will rotate fields every arc so that soil has a chance to rest and rejuvenate. It's called fallowing soil."
Elisabeth had questions - a lot of them - but she decided to wait for a better time. They were in something of a hurry to get the crop planted, and the questions could wait. Nodding, she got back to work on the soil, oblivious to the fact that Storm was dragging another item out of her bag - a silver brush - and taking it to his new lair in the clump of trees. It was shiny and pretty, and would look lovely in his newly established hoard.
