The View from the top of the gangway that leads into the upper level of the barn. Once things get growing, I go up here every day to survey the scene. Today, it pretty much sums up the spring so far, mainly damp, grey and gloomy (see Mar.16, Feb.18). Without sun, the grass has hardly started to green up. You can just make out the yellow markers in the very first section on the left where yesterday I got in beds of spinach (Bloomsdale, Spargo), beets (Scarlet Supreme, Detroit Dark Red) and radish (Rebel, French Breakfast). That felt good!
Month: April 2007
Wood pile
It’s too wet today for fieldwork, and the seedlings are all set till starting squash, cukes and melons in a few days. There’s always lots of other stuff to do, like building an enclosure for the new composting toilet (a modern outhouse in the field). For that I did a quick inventory of scrap lumber. This outdoor pile (there’s more in the barn) comes mainly from the demolition when we extended the old Milkhouse last fall. Some of the wood is over 50 years old and in fine shape for framing. Building and fixing the stuff you need is a natural part of tiny farming. It’s even more satisfying when you can use materials you have on hand—recycling that you can actually see in action! It makes sense!!
Greens machine!
Surprise! I feel like a kid with a new go-kart. I plan to learn how to weld this year, and I’d been discussing with Bob this specialized harvest cart as a first project. Well, he went ahead and whipped up his own interpretation, using parts that were hanging about. Voila! The cart sits over a bed of mesclun, spinach or other low greens, wheels in the paths, you lean forward to cut, and move it a foot or two at a time with your feet. The minute I sat on it, the improvement from crouching or straddling the bed and bending over was clear. Cutting in comfort, and it’s supposed to near double your speed. It moves easily even in pretty wet soil, and the height seems right, but it’s still a prototype, to be harvest-tested and refined. Over the season, I cut TONS of greens (maybe not literally, but feels like it), so I’m excited!
Greenroom bubbling over…
Today the weather finally broke for the warm and sunny. Amazing what a difference a day can make! And not a moment too soon. The grow racks are full to overflowing. I’ve been holding the seedlings in their original positions for as long as possible, but at least half absolutely need to be potted up to larger quarters right away. With better weather, moving them to the greenhouse is finally a reasonable proposition. Time to head for the fields!
Latest tomatoes
Some of the last-started tomatoes. This was a first-time experiment with starting toms in 200-cell plug trays, also, starting as close to last frost date as seemed reasonable. You can get a lot going in a little space, but they won’t fit in there for long. (Gotta admit, this photo’s a bit of a placeholder in my post-a-day plan. With the sudden fantastic weather, and my first full-time all-around helper in the garden just arrived—energetic, enthusiastic, no microfarming experience—I was totally immersed in fieldwork and FORGOT TO SNAP a slice of today’s main action. Tomorrow’s another day!)
First field transplant of the year
This little Jade Cross Brussels sprouts seedling, only four weeks old, is first into the open field. The weather remains pretty well perfect, warm and sunny, and we’re steadily chipping away at the list of crops waiting to be started right away. Today, besides the Brussels sprouts, the first three beds of mesclun, and a whole lot of bed preparation!
Get it in, get it done!
Conall, the all-new organic grower, starting from scratch as our first full-season, full-timer, waters in transplants. Today we set out three more beds of brassicas—so far, there’s cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, bok choi—prepared beds for a dozen more crops, set up the irrigation pump for the season, cleaned out the winter storage area of the barn, turned the composting windrow….and more. Still, it’s the rush-to-get-it-in-get-it-done time of the year, and the days never seem long enough (although, they’re getting longer!!).