A new farm report

It's been a bit since the last farm report - and since the two of us spent a fairly busy day outside on Saturday...

I think Tammy will agree that we had our first day of the year where we both were barely able to crawl into bed at the end of the day.  Even if you don't do the 'farming' thing, I think most people can relate to the special kind of tired that one gets after spending the first really full day outside in the Spring.  And, this is not necessarily a bad thing - even if it can be somewhat painful.

In our case, we spent some time doing the Spring cleaning for one of the two rooms the hens use at night - and for a large part of the Winter when they will not go out.  For the record, chickens do not like walking in snow and will come to a screeching halt in the doorway when they see it.  It is mildly interesting watching the birds in back bowl into the birds in front.  There is always one (or two) that get the bright idea of flying OVER everyone else.  Those birds that do this usually land in the snow and just sit there.  It's almost as if the shock of the snow freezes them into place.  This is one of the few times we can walk right up to a bird and pick it up with no chasing and no squawking.  But, I suppose that is neither here nor there with respect to the point of this post.... But, you probably don't care since this was more fun!

We seeded many more trays of peppers, eggplants, broccoli, marigolds and lettuce.  The process seems fairly simple, but it is amazing how much work it can be.  This season, we have been doing most of the seeding in the high tunnel because it is just more pleasant out there than it is in the garage or the basement.  It has some advantages - but the disadvantage is that there is a bit more moving of soil, trays and other materials back and forth.  But, the simple fact that the work space is more pleasant makes it easy to forgive any of the inconveniences.  And, it happens every year - we've already made our first few "oopses."  The temps got a bit colder than expected and we lost a tray of beautiful marigolds that didn't get under cover.  Ah well, we might as well knock over three or four trays of tomatoes and get that mistake over for the year too.

One of the service trip groups from Wartburg College volunteered some time at the farm Saturday and we were able to move all of the tomato cages out of last year's field and out of the way until they are placed in the new field.  With eight of us working, we had them all pulled, cleaned and moved in ninety minutes.  To put it into perspective, we had to pull about 380 cages - not a small task and always easier with a crew.  Rob has had years where he has moved most of them himself.  Usually in sessions of 50-60 per day for a week.  The process entails alot of walking since cages and stakes have to be out of the way so the fields can be prepared for planting.

Tammy and I also made sure to spread compost on this year's melon/watermelon field.  These crops are heavy feeders, so this should help them make a good go of it this year.  Once again, you must consider that we do not have a spreader for compost/manure.  So, the trips were made essentially one wheelbarrow at a time.  They are, at least, bigger wheel barrows.  Then, we spread the compost around with a garden rake.  Slowly, but surely, we are finding ways to make many tasks more efficient - this one just isn't there yet.  But, it is also a task that occurs in very late fall or very early spring -so it isn't all that bad of a thing to work oneself into shape.

The high tunnel has spinach, kale, lettuce, onions and leeks growing in it right now.  We have several plants ready to be transplanted and lots of seed ready to go in.  We're looking to put in early spinach, arugula and radish in the next week.  We'll see what happens.

It's Spring - who knows?