02/21/2026
Dawn On The Farm
“Farmer Tee’s Garden of Big Dreams”
Today was garden preparation day.
More specifically, cleanup day.
The sun had just climbed over the trees when Farmer Tee stepped into last year’s garden and stood still for a moment. Empty T-posts stood in long rows where tomatoes had climbed high toward the sun. Bean stalks rattled in the breeze. Dried squash vines curled along the ground.
He took a slow breath and smiled.
“This,” he said quietly, “is where it begins.”
Farmer Kael rolled up with the wheelbarrow and leaned on the handles.
“So where are we starting today, Farmer Tee?”
Farmer Tee pointed down the first row.
“We start by clearing what’s finished. Pull the old vines. Stack them. Then we’ll work those T-posts out and get them ready to reset. We’re not planting yet. We’re preparing the ground.”
Right next to the chicken yard, the old electric poultry netting sagged along the edge of the garden. It had been repurposed to keep critters out, and it had done its best. This year, it would likely be replaced with tall deer netting, something strong enough to keep both deer and curious chickens from nibbling the harvest.
The hens lined up anyway.
One hopped onto a low board for a better view. Another stretched her neck toward the sagging netting as if measuring the distance. A third squinted at the T-posts like she was calculating jump height.
If chickens could speak plainly, they would have been asking one question.
“Is this finally our year?”
Farmer Tee grabbed a dried tomato vine and pulled.
Crunch. Snap. Tug.
The hens leaned forward.
Nothing edible fell out.
A disappointed cluck passed down the line.
Farmer Dawn leaned on her rake, smiling. Gardening wasn’t her favorite job. She preferred feeding families in the kitchen. But she loved watching something good begin.
Kael began gathering the stalks into the wheelbarrow.
“We leave the roots?” Kael asked.
“We do,” Farmer Tee replied. “The roots fed the soil all season. Let them break down where they are. The soil life will take care of the rest.”
He bent down and scooped up a handful of dark earth.
“Most people think this is just dirt,” he said. “But it’s alive.”
The chickens froze.
Alive?
They looked at each other suspiciously.
Beneath the surface is a whole web of life. Bacteria, fungi, worms, insects. All working together. The fungi stretch through the soil like threads. The bacteria break down old plants into nutrients. Worms tunnel, letting air and water move freely.
At the word worms, the entire chicken line perked up.
Now this conversation was interesting.
“That’s why we don’t till it up too much,” Farmer Tee continued. “If we churn it hard, we break up their work.”
“We protect the soil food web,” Kael said, nodding.
“Exactly.”
The hens were no longer listening to the lesson.
They were thinking about worms.
Next came the T-posts. Farmer Tee rocked the first one back and forth until it loosened from the soil. It had held heavy tomato vines all summer. Now it stood empty, ready to be reset in straighter, stronger lines.
Kael pulled the next one free with a steady lift.
“We’ll space them tighter this year?” Kael asked.
“A little,” Farmer Tee answered. “We’re doubling the tomatoes. Bigger garden. Bigger plans.”
He stood up and looked across the rows.
“And lots of cucumbers,” he added with a grin. “We’re planting lots of pickles this year.”
Farmer Dawn laughed. Everyone knew how much Farmer Tee loved his dill pickles in the winter.
The chickens gasped.
Pickles?
They did not understand how cucumbers turned into pickles, but they were willing to participate in the research.
Cleanup wasn’t just about removing what was old. It was about making room.
“All winter long,” Farmer Tee said, “we’ve been building what this soil needs.”
The compost pile had been growing steadily. Kitchen scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds, leaves, manure. All breaking down into rich organic matter.
“And the rabbits,” Farmer Dawn added.
Kael smiled. “Best fertilizer makers on the farm.”
The chickens narrowed their eyes.
They did not appreciate being outperformed in fertilizer production.
Rabbit manure could go straight onto the beds. It wouldn’t burn the plants. It would feed the microbes and strengthen the soil.
Farmer Tee reached for a small bucket filled with black, crumbly pieces.
“Biochar,” he said.
Kael nodded again. “Holds nutrients.”
“And holds water,” Farmer Tee added. “Gives the microbes a place to settle and stay.”
The hens stared at the biochar.
It looked like snacks.
It was not snacks.
They sighed.
They worked steadily. Pulling posts. Stacking vines. Rolling the old poultry netting into a pile.
“In the next few days,” Farmer Tee said, “we’ll start layering. Compost first. Then rabbit manure. Then biochar. We’ll build the soil before we plant a single seed.”
“Feed the ground before it feeds us,” Kael said.
Farmer Tee smiled. “That’s right.”
By midmorning, the garden looked different. Cleaner. Ready.
The chickens finally wandered off when they realized no vegetables had appeared yet and no worms had surfaced for sampling.
They would be back.
Farmer Dawn stood quietly, watching the rows take shape.
Gardening might not be her thing.
But watching the soil being cared for, knowing it would turn into tomatoes, green beans, and jars of dill pickles for winter, that part she loved.
Cleanup day was only the beginning.
Big dreams grow from healthy ground. 🌱
