New Additions

I'm very sad to say that The Greatest Next Door Neighbor in the World is moving far away.  It breaks my heart to see him go.  On the up side, we've inherited about half of his household knick knacks and furniture.  Included in those knick knacks was this awesome mason bee house.  I installed it in the high tunnel this week, and I'm hoping the mason bees will come to feast on the strawberry blossoms.

I installed the drip irrigation a few weeks ago - all by myself!  I had a real grrrrl-power buzz going for a few days afterward.

See the citrus trees at the far end?  Meyer Lemon, Mexican Lime, and Washington Navel Orange.

The strawberries are delighted with their new digs.

Sharing is Caring

No more planting parties of one.  Some good friends of ours have moved into the greenhouse.  We're sharing the space (of which we have plenty) so that our buddies don't have to purchase hundreds of seedlings for their garden this year (they grow just about every vegetable you can imagine for farmers market).

With the new high tunnel, I have more indoor growing space than I can currently fill, so there's room for everyone!  Even when it looks like the greenhouse is full, it's not.  I can always cram in more shelves and relocate larger plants to the high tunnel.  The citrus trees have already been moved into the high tunnel, and they love it.

All is well in the greenhouse realm, and I'll be giving a full report when I've got a chance...

Join Us For Farm Days at Foggy Ridge Cider!

Fat Bear Farm is growing asparagus for the third year, and it is finally time to harvest!  As the first spears of the season are emerging, it is with great pleasure that we invite you to attend a spring celebration at Foggy Ridge Cider (click here for link).

On April 28, from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., we will be selling asparagus and other Fat Bear goodies at the cidery.  So come on out for a hard cider tasting accompanied by a variety of prepared asparagus dishes.  I don't think it gets much better than that!

Turn That Frown Upside-Down!

Let's just say that I was having a very grumpy day.  It started from the get-go.  But I started to feel a bit better when I turned on my iPod to Buffalo Springfield.  Then, I started feeling a lot better when I saw this:

Now I've got a little spring in my step, so to speak.  The high tunnel strawberries are the only strawberries blooming at this moment (except for the handful of plants I have in the heated greenhouse).  The weather is supposed to become more pleasant today (last night was chilly-willy) and remain civil over the next few weeks, so I'm not too concerned about the wellbeing of the high tunnel gang.  But anything can happen, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and very actively keeping a positive attitude.  The asparagus will be waking up in a week or two, so I'm kissing winter good-bye.  

Au revoir!

Electrified At Last

It would be an understatement to say that we have a deer problem.  On second thought, it's the deer that have a people problem.  We've so encroached on their territory that nothing is "theirs" any longer.  Possibly even more importantly, we've destroyed the population of natural predators, so the countless herds go unchecked year after year.

My first buck.  Got'em with a peanut butter sandwich and a catchpole.

Fat Bear Farm has been a sweet spot for the white-taileds for quite some time.  They've been allowed to buffet on our blueberries with no repercussions whatsoever. Our dogs don't roam around the property, viciously defending their masters' cause; Thurgood and Miles spend their nights in soft, cozy beds (either of the dog or human sort), and they barely even lift a brow when we encounter groups of seven to ten does on our twice-daily walks.  Furthermore, Ben and I are vegetarians and have not found it in our hearts to hunt them down mercilessly.  

Last blueberry season that was the straw that broke the camel's back.  We had a late frost, and the berries were struggling.  The summer was oh so dry, and there wasn't a lot of other food for the deer to eat.  So, they hit our blueberry buffet hard.  

No more!  No more!  No more!  We are fully electrified!  Ben's Dear Dad made it happen, and we couldn't have done it without him.  I am ever humbled by his generosity.

Our strawberries and blackberries share the same patch of land as the blueberries, so they will also be safe from deer.  Now that we're protected, we'll be adding root vegetables to this same piece of land (deer especially love tender baby sweet potato vines).

We only have to remain vigilant about the rabbits, birds, and wild hogs.