There's no Snow?

We have been blessed now with a week or so of beautiful weather and we have done what we can to make the most of it at the Genuine Faux Farm.  Tammy got her grading done quick enough that she could partake in the farming fun for most of what is termed "Tour Week" at Wartburg College.  Her tour?  Well, you'll see some of it below.


Sometimes I take a picture and I am not entirely sure why I take it.  In this case, it was simply the view from the vantage point I had as I was finishing some maintenance on Barty (see prior post).  There is now a hint of green to the grassy areas, though it is usually a good bit greener than that most years on April 26.  Still, there is nary a hint of the white stuff on the ground, so I am fine with it.

The great migration of plants from the house and other warmer spots to more 'outdoorsy' locations has begun.  We take most of our house plants (like the palm in the picture) outside for most of the Summer.  It's far easier for us to keep them watered out there than it is inside.  And, the cart is full of cute little pepper plants that are anxiously awaiting being 'potted up' from their cells into three and a half inch pots. 

They are going to go reside in Valhalla for a couple of weeks to protect them from temperatures that are likely to still get close to freezing.  In fact, the forecast has lows around 36, 32 and 33 listed for the next three nights.  So, we need to stay alert. 

The palm gets to sit in the garage and it comes out to play each day once it is warm enough.  The pepper, eggplant and tomato plants are protected in other ways.

The north side of Valhalla has been designated a plant refuge and resort.  The building gets quite a bit warmer during the day, especially when it is sunny.  We close it up in early evening to hold some of the latent heat and we put a couple of layers of remay covering over the plants.  There are hoops placed over the plant trays to make sure the covering is above them and not on them.

We tuck the little plants in each evening and let them out to play once the temperature in the building reaches levels they might enjoy.  It does the heart good to see six inch tall tomatoes and three inch tall pepper plants running around having a good time.

Ok.  They really just sit there.  Sometimes, we put them in a cart and pull them around just so they can see some different things.  They are young and they should see the world before they put down roots.

What?

We want them to be happy.

 

 Our potting and seeding area is about to be moved to another location as we prep to plant in the ground.  Initially, some of the things you see in the reddish tubs were supposed to get planted into the ground.  But, it was easier to keep them warmer in the tubs, so we kept them in the tubs during the unseasonably cool temps.  That way, we had the option to go get them and bring them in if we thought they would die.  As it was, they just sat there and didn't grow.  But, they lived.  Now, after a few days of sun and warm, they are putting on some growth.  So, time to prep the beds in Valhalla and plant them. 

 Meanwhile, we have to give more seeds a chance to grow and show us what they can do.  So, we threw seeds into 30 some trays.  I wonder what will happen next?

Meanwhile, we await the swelling of buds on trees and the greening of the pasture areas.  The soil in the field just south of Valhalla is still pretty damp, but the breeze should start to dry it out.  Lots of sunshine is raising the soil temperatures rapidly.

It is quite possible that Spring has actually sprung.