Around the Farm ~ Early Spring

With the approach of the first day of spring this weekend, we are itching to get back outside again.  Part of our trip preparations is getting early spring work around here wrapped up before we leave.  We are typically home over spring break and with the exception of maybe a long weekend away with the kiddos, dedicate this time to preparing for the garden season.  Thankfully we got ourselves well ahead of the game with our fall wrap up, so the pressure is down.  We did evacuate the winter's straw layers from the hen house this morning, cleaning and prepping their digs for warmer weather to come and some added roommates in early summer.  Our compost heap is cooking away and growing nicely with the addition of chicken and pig litter.  We should have an excellent batch for late summer top dressing and fall bed replenishment.

We are rewarded in early spring with the first buds, and baby plants poking through the soft wet earth.  The maple trees branches are beginning to get heavy with deep burgundy flower poofs, that do not put on much of a show, and make a huge mess when they drop, but are a welcome sign of spring none the less.

The giant rhubarb plant looks like it enjoyed its winter nap covered in compost, I suspect this will have just burst in growth by the time we get back.

The garlic is doing beautifully with rows upon rows of shoots finding their way to the surface.

The horseradish plants are also looking robust early on, and as I mentioned earlier this week, the spinach in the cold frame should soon be ready to eat.  Everything seems to be running right on schedule!

Spring on the Farm & Visitors

In the last ten days or so I have spent time with an amazing group of women for a weekend of  laughing, sharing, practicing yoga and pampering ourselves.  This was quickly followed by family arriving for a busy week of catching up.  It is spring after all and even when we have other things going on, we must pay attention to the farm, even if it is in short bursts.  Over time we have found that these bursts can be concentrated bits of energy where we get a ton done in a short amount of time.  It leaves us feeling very accomplished and quite sore.

We did some minor repairs to our chicken tractor and moved it to a new location for the season. The ducklings and goslings have quadrupled in size and we were thrilled to move them from the indoor brooding area outside to the chicken tractor.

The pigs are growing by leaps and bounds and really behave like big dogs.  It is so fun to watch them run around and play.  As I mentioned they were fast friends and virtually inseparable.  They sleep together, play together, and have taken to grooming one another.  The year we moved in we lost a giant willow tree.  The logs have been piled behind the granary since then.  As this is now part of the pig enclosure, we moved all of the logs to the newly cleared out bonfire pit, and left lots of new rooting space for Mabel and Penelope.

The cool weather growing season is well under way!  B added compost to and broad forked several beds preparing them for planting.  We have lettuces in the cold frame that are absolutely gorgeous, and only a few weeks from harvest.  The asparagus has begun to emerge, onion sets are in the ground, radishes beginning to get little bulbs, and the cabbage/broccoli/cauliflower bed is looking robust.  We're off to the races!