They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
Yesterday afternoon the soil temperature was about 60°. Then it rained all night long. Barely over 50. Nothing cools the soil down like 12 hours of cold rain. Nevertheless, still warm enough for some cool season crops like radishes, spinach, lettuce. We have some seeds in the ground so we decided to feed them some…… Continue reading Worm castings, and soil temperature
Cold, blustery, rainy, gray. Typical early April day in the Pacific Northwest. But inside the cold frames, it is plenty warm enough to start some seeds.
Shaping garden beds in the early morning, just before sunrise. It is worth it.
Finished shaping the garden beds and mulching the pathways, just before sunrise this lovely Good Friday morning. Not bad looking! This is the last year we should have to do such extensive shaping. Starting this fall we will simply be top dressing with screened manure/compost (big dreams there!) and adding a few wheelbarrow loads to… Continue reading Garden Beds and Soil Temps
The weather has been unseasonably warm, and we have unconfirmed reports that the soil temperature is over 50 degrees farenheit. I say "unconfirmed" because Evie checked the soil temperature, and no grown-up has had the time to recheck it behind her. But she is a smart cookie, and we are taking her word for it.… Continue reading First Seeds
Last week, on Tuesday, we got out to the farm. Didn't get as much done as we had hoped, but we did make some forward progress. We planted asparagus, and wild flowers. The flowers will border parts of the garden. It is always a good idea to interplant flowers, or at least have them on… Continue reading Flowers and PEX pipe
Really should have been done in November. The deep bedding system builds a thick pack of hay, shredded paper and poop over the year. This ultimately goes into the garden or the orchard or the compost pile. Frosty but clear. Listening to “Bible in a year” and moving wheelbarrows. Our flocks and herds, scratching the… Continue reading Cleaning out the hen house
It was actually sunny outside yesterday, for part of the day. Daddy and the kids continued working on the garden gate/fence project. Of course this involved digging. Lots of digging. This took us through the coolest part of the morning, and by the time the air temperature was above 40 degrees we were ready to… Continue reading Dog by the Garden Gate
We have been having issues with the dog lately, running back into the berry patch behind the garden. He likes to run back and forth along the fence separating the berry patch from the old orchard, barking his head off at the pigs and the geese, trampling the goumi berries and disturbing the mother goose… Continue reading Down by the Garden Gate.
The thermometer in the shop where we were keeping the pumpkins, squash and onions read 30 degrees after the propane stove failed. While the pumpkins and squash might be salvagable, the onions are almost certainly lost. As soon as they thaw they are going to turn into a nasty slimy mess. I suppose then we… Continue reading Preserving the Pumpkins
Little Farm in the Big City 