Month: April 2008 - Page 2

Spring fieldwork continues

15 Dec 200822 Apr 2008 by Mike (tfb)

Bed preparation and first seeding continue. Today, Lynn’s tiny farming experience broadened to include rakes, and using them to spread compost. Moderately hard work in the heat, but it was a fairly small area. Overall, things are generally on schedule, … Read the rest

Earth Day observed

7 Feb 201322 Apr 2008 by Mike (tfb)

This year for Earth Day (a Day I don’t usually…observe), I gave a talk on small-scale organic farming for an audience of three in the airy designer meeting room in the Upstairs at Loblaws zone. Here’s the view from…upstairs (this … Read the rest

Grass fire across the road

27 Nov 202321 Apr 2008 by Mike (tfb)

Someone in the village burning junk in their backyard set off a grass fire that spread across a field and threatened to burn down the barn and house across the road. I missed the flames, and took a look as … Read the rest

How odd…

3 Apr 201621 Apr 2008 by Mike (tfb)

It’s like we’ve gone directly from winter to summer. Less than a WEEK since the ground dried out enough to walk on it and till it, I’m actually out there WATERING… This is really odd.

I’m sure we’ve had unseasonably … Read the rest

Tangling with hoses

3 Apr 201620 Apr 2008 by Mike (tfb)

In smaller gardens (tinier farms!), hoses are generally a fact of life. In spring, it’s time to uncoil them all, check the fittings, and get set to deliver water largely by hand.

On BIG veggie farms, “hoses” are usually big … Read the rest

Seedlings don’t wait around!

3 Apr 201618 Apr 2008 by Mike (tfb)

The weather’s been warm, sunny, essentially FANTASTIC for the last couple of days, and the forecast for the next few looks just as good. Indoors, many of the earliest seedling starts are putting on growth spurts, quite suddenly crowding each … Read the rest

Field day!

3 Apr 201617 Apr 2008 by Mike (tfb)

Left to the last possible harvest in the fall, brassicas like kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower (above), were eventually winter-killed and now have to be cleaned up—one of the first field-readying jobs of spring! Today, I started. (EVERY … Read the rest