The warm weather has allowed us to be very productive! With approximately 3 weeks to go until last frost date, seedling starting is moving right along. The next succession of greens has been started under the lights, as have the heat-loving herbs. The previously seeded and now hardened off greens have been planted in the garden.

Chinese cabbage

Leaf lettuce, radishes, spinach, and beets have been direct seeded outside. The Sugar Snap peas and Chinese pea pods are sprouting and their trellises are in place. The thunderstorm today has forced us to stay inside but has given the seeds and transplants a good soaking. When the ground dries out a bit it will be onto planting onion and leek seedlings.

We realized we ordered a LOT of seed potatoes. 100 lbs to be exact. What were we thinking? That we really like Yukon Gold and All Blue, and so does everyone else? After planting what would fit in the allocated area we still had a bunch left over and no time to till and prepare a new area. Enter a trial of “no dig” potato gardening. First we lay down landscape fabric (and when that ran out plastic bags). Notice our helper falling asleep on the job.

Yes, it is perfectly level. For those who obsess about that kind of stuff.

Next we put in a layer of compost about 4-6 inches deep and lay the seed potatoes on top. This is where the potato plant’s roots will grow.

Finally the whole thing was covered with a thick layer of straw.

The theory is that the potatoes will form in the straw above the seed potato and no digging will be involved to harvest. If it works we’ll do all our potatoes this way from now on because this was WAY easier than digging them into the ground to plant. Unless, of course, you’re the one hauling all that compost J! Either way about it, after the potatoes finish this area will be enclosed and become our unheated greenhouse where we will overwinter vegetables and start the cold-hardy seedlings in the spring.

First Day of Spring....

Spring officially starts next week, and the ground has finally dried out enough so that we can get to work on it. Things around the farm have become very busy. With my list (and the “add-ons” that my dear wife places on the list) never seeming to end there just aren’t enough hours in a day to get everything done. Life has become most busy with all the planting, tilling and trellis building going on here.  With warmer nighttime temperatures and less chance of frost the cold hardy seedlings, such as onions, leeks, and cabbage, can go out and stay out to get hardened off before going into the ground.

 The more sensitive plants are getting their first exposure to the great outdoors, and the truly warm weather plants such as peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants are still nice and warm underneath their plant lights. They will stay inside until it is reliably warm.

With thanks to Mom… we have the wonderful addition of fruit trees to our homestead.  Once my wife and I agree on the placement of all these trees, which may take a while, they will be planted and in a few years we will enjoy plums, cherries, apricots, peaches, and apples.  Thanks again Mom!

 

We are getting our plots into shape by adding compost; otherwise known as black gold. This will be our only “fertilizer”.

The over-wintered greens are coming back nicely and we have been enjoying fresh spinach and chard these past nights.

After we cleaned out one overwintered plot of cabbage and broccoli to make room for potatoes, the chickens had the remaining vegetation for dinner. Chicken salad buffet.

As you can see they have pretty much wiped out all the vegetation in their winter pasture. They will soon be moved to the fresh green pasture behind them. We rotate the chickens on a 3 year schedule to allow the vegetation to recover.

Winter Hanging On....

Ok, so maybe the groundhog was right when he stated back in February that Olde Man Winter would be around for another six weeks.  Today, the beginning of the second week in March, started cold and gray with what we hope is the last punch of winter that is leaving us with a few inches of snow.  The ground, which is already very, VERY saturated from record rainfall the previous week, is waiting for the day that it can be tilled, worked into beds and planted with the early spring crops. If we worked the wet ground now we would ruin the structure of our soil and be left with impenetrable clods for the rest of the year. So we wait.

  





 However, under the warmth of the plant lights the seedlings are doing their thing and starting their growth to get to the size they need to be to be transferred to the great outdoors.  Other crops that will be direct seeded stand by for their time to get into the ground. Onion sets, some garlic that didn’t get planted last fall, and seed potatoes that are starting to sprout wait patiently in the seedling room.  Or on that day when the sun does shine, a few hours to bask in the sunlight.

 

  

Seedlings taking advantage of sunny day on the front porch



With the growing season and its 16 hour work days rapidly approaching, we take a moment to get outside and be a kid again by tossing a few snowballs (not too hard) at the wife and enjoy what we hope is the last of winter and the wait for the coming of warm days and blue skies.