I Think We're Ready

Our babies will be here tomorrow or the next day.  I hope they come tomorrow.  I have their room all set up.  We used a raised bed that we hadn't ever quite filled with soil, and it happens to be just the right size.  I stapled cardboard all around the inside because it's made of treated wood, and we don't want the chicks to peck on that.  I guess it's really just a giant reinforced cardboard box.  I also put a layer of cardboard on the bottom, and it all sits atop a very thick tarp that's folded in half.  I think the wood floor will survive.  

We bought a fifty-pound bag of starter feed at Performance Livestock & Feed, which is right down the road from our house.  It's a locally owned, family-run operation. They sell high quality feed at really great prices.  The fifty pounds we bought from them was the same price as a five-pound bag from the Tractor Supply.  Lucky us.

Did you know that we have a third St. Bernard?

Today I said good bye to the stunted albino artichoke.  It was moving day for some of the artichoke seedlings.  I took all of the ones that had germinated out of the greenhouse and put them in basement under grow lights.  Space is very limited down there, and the little guy just didn't make the cut.

 I'm not really growing "Fantasy Mix" petunias.  I reuse old labels.

It's a good idea to keep them at about fifty degrees after germination for ten days.  This is supposed to encourage earlier budding, which is important if you want them to bear fruit the first year.  It's even more important to do this if you are growing them as annuals instead of perennials.  I'm hoping that we can figure out a way to overwinter our artichokes, but if it doesn't work out maybe we'll get some artichokes this season anyway. The basement stays between fifty and sixty degrees,  so that's where they'll live for a week and a half.

Ben's parents came over last weekend, and we celebrated their birthdays (they are one week apart).  They brought us these beautiful jonquils.  The smell is incredible.  Only one of ours has bloomed so far.  Flower envy.

 

Greenhouse Update (Oh, Joy!)

I have very exciting news!  The blueberry whips that I stuck in peat moss last week are alive and kicking! The leaf buds on almost every single little stick are swelling nicely after just six days, but they have a very long way to go.  Even after they leaf-out, the roots won't start to develop for another several weeks or a few months.  But I am very optimistic.  They seem to like it in the greenhouse, and the peat moss/sand mixture holds moisture well without getting too soggy.  I'll be pleased if we get just 50 successful plants out of the of 260 we started.

The hops are growing quickly.  The Nugget hops are huge compared to the others.  At this stage of growth, I can see differences between all the varieties that are not apparent during later parts of the season.  Right now, the Nuggets are the most beautiful shade of  purpley-beet red.

Nugget Hops

Willamette Hops

Cascade Hops

Lettuce:

Happy and smiling.  Just a few more weeks until the salad days begin.

Tomatoes:

Still small, but thriving.

Artichokes:

Low germination rate?  Whatchu talkin'bout?

Miles Giles guards the orange tree against peasant intruders.

Can you beat that view?

There are a ton of other things going on in the greenhouse.  See the side bar for a complete list.

Happy growing!

The Stunted Albino and Wild Boar

When growing artichokes from seed, a good amount of culling is involved.  Some seeds will produce stunted plants, while others produce albino plants.  Also, you'll want to transplant only the most vigorous of whatever remains.  The germination rate of artichoke seeds can be relatively low to begin with, so I planted about 40 in the greenhouse.  I started the first set on February 14 (gives a whole new meaning to heart day), and another set two weeks later.  The Valentine's Day artichokes have been popping up like crazy for the past few days.  They are looking healthy and happy, but the little guy on the left will have to go.

He is a stunted albino artichoke.  I'll keep him around for a bit out of pure curiousity, but he's gone as soon as room starts to run out.  So far, the rest of the plants look like the lady on the right.

In other news, we finally caught a glimpse of the elusive wild boar.  Mr. (or Ms.) Pig has been wallowing around the farm since winter began.  We had seen his tracks, his scats, and bits of hair, but we hadn't seen him in the flesh until two nights ago when we were on our way to the greenhouse to turn the heater on.  We're going to put up a wildlife camera this weekend to get a better idea of his habits.  Piggy, your days are numbered!

Work in Progress: New Kitchen Garden

I've been working on the backyard veggie garden since last autumn.  Now that all the beds are beautifully dug, I'm mulching between the rows with newspaper and straw to keep the weeds down, the moisture up, and the worms happy.  We did something similar in the asparagus field, but used cardboard instead of newspaper.  Newspaper is tricky.  It flies away with the slightest breeze.  So when working with newspaper as mulch, remember that water is your friend.  I spray the newspaper with a hose after laying every few sheets, and it does the trick until I can get the straw down.

 I love using this method.  I would normally till up the earth before putting down the mulch, but I think it's okay that I skipped this step because the grass hasn't started growing yet.

I was thrilled to see this morning that the Columbine I transplanted during the driest days of last summer has come back!  Also, the artichokes and basil in the greenhouse have germinated.  It has been a pretty good day.

After the Rain

We had the perfect rain.  It was more than a drizzle without ever turning into a downpour, and it lasted almost twenty-four hours.  I took the boys on an extra-long walk this morning to investigate.

It was a beautiful morning for the blueberries.

Some of the pea seeds needed to be put back in their place.  I had planted them an inch deep and pressed them in pretty well because this very thing seems to always happen.   A few of the buggers decided they wanted to work their way up to the top, so to speak.  I showed them who's boss.

I don't know what this is, but it's the first to bloom at Fat Bear Farmhouse.  She's growing just outside of the rock border in one of the front yard gardens.

I think this is an ornamental cherry (there are no other cherry-look-a-likes on the property for to pollinate).  Anyway, we'll find out this spring.  There will probably be lots of surprises this spring.  Because we moved to this property in June, we've yet to see all of spring's bounty.

The daffodils are doing their happy dance.

I had a great time in the greenhouse today.  I decided to plant a few back-ups.  It can get really cold in there at night, even with the heat on .  Everything has been fine so far, but some things are germinating more slowly than I'd like.  Also, if there's a crazy disaster and the heater gives out, I don't want to be without my early tomatoes and peppers.  So I'll be putting today's new seedlings under lights in the grow room (it's our extra bedroom that we also use to ferment beer and everything else that needs a space, like our soon-to-arrive chicks) at home.  Just in case.

I so love my Pot Maker. 

Planting party

 Little salad babies

High technology set-up

We have several piles of poo and compost rotting away at the farm.  This lovely lot is the most pampered, and all our work is paying off.  The compost is finally heating up again!  We've been turning is religiously and watering when necessary.  I think this rain will give it a great boost.

 From left to right: goat poo from the neighbor up the road, chicken poo, and kitchen scraps

  Rain clouds departing

Overwintered Spinach

Just before the bitter cold of winter set in, I planted a few spinach seeds in greenhouse in the bed with the hops.  We keep the heater off until it's time to start seeds at the end of winter, so it gets pretty chilly in there.  The seeds germinated slowly, and I thought they would just fizzle out. Although I had given up hope, I doused them with a bit of water last week.  A few days later, they perked up.  Then I doused them with a bit of fish and seaweed fertilizer.  Now, the spinach is thriving!  I'll be sure to plant a lot more spinach in the greenhouse this fall.

It Begins

What better time to start a farm blog than at the beginning of what is sure to be a very eventful season?  This little guy reared his head yesterday.  A Speckled Roman tomato.  I'll be using these for sauces and soups.  I've also started four other heirloom varities: Brandywine, Moonglow, Persimmon, and Black Sea Man.  Persimmon is my all-time favorite for flavor.  I've never planted Moonglow or Black Sea Man before, so I'm not sure how they'll taste.  I so regret leaving out Cherokee Purple this year, but I wanted to try some new things.

This the asparagus patch we put in last year.  I pulled back the mulch and topped it off with a few inches of very well-aged horse manure yesterday.  There are 500 crowns in this section, and our first harvest will be in 2012.

This is where we'll put in 500 more asparagus crowns this year.  They should arrive next month, and we still have a lot of preparation to do.  We put down some chicken manure last fall, and we'll tuck the crowns in with some of that beautiful 10-year-old horse manure.

Ahhhh, and the blueberries.  All 400-and-something bushes have been pruned, and they are just waiting for the right time to bloom.  The deer, wild turkeys, neighbors, dogs, and I are anxiously awaiting their arrival.