Sunday, April 29, 2012

In Maine, the traditional "mostly safe" date to start a garden is Memorial Day.   Of course, some folks start "cool" loving things earlier, like spinach, or put in things early that won't sprout for awhile, such as potatoes.   We've had a mild winter and an early spring.   I'll probably put some seedlings out for sale a bit early.

But, we'll probably follow the usual schedule and aim for Memorial Day, for getting the garden in.   That usually gives us a long enough growing season for what we need.

In the March 17th post, there is a picture of some of the vegetable beds, clear of snow.   I wanted to post a picture of one of the beds now, to show the difference in color. 

Vegetable bed #3, planted to winter rye, late April

The light green area is Bed #3, planted with winter rye (a green manure).   The darker green is lawn.   We plant in fairly small beds (this one is about 15 x 50) because of the heavy clay soils and drainage swales.   We need to "fit" the beds in between swales, and build the beds up with organic matter.  This provides better soil for the veggies, and allows for buffers around the beds to reduce the risk of erosion problems.

If we simply opened up 3 acres or so, we'd have erosion gullies forming all over the place, which would be bad for both the soil and water quality.

I started a new "little" bed last year, in addition to a couple of large beds.  George and I just picked up blueberry plants for the little bed!   I need to work in some cow manure and phosphorous, then put in the high bush blueberry plants.   

The little blueberry bed looks "brown" around the edges in the picture.  The brown is just the remains of grass cuttings I put there last fall, to mark the bed, in case I had trouble finding it in the spring.  Beds have a way of hiding.

High bush blueberries

Yet to be turned-over blueberry bed

The blueberry plants were mostly paid for with a birthday gift from my mother-in-law, Dorothy.

Thanks, Dorothy!!

Seedlings

Broccoli seedlings in the greenhouse

I put up some new grow lights in the basement yesterday; we always seem to run short of space for seedlings.  We've been fiddling with the temperature in the small greenhouse, opening it up to cool during the day, and using the heater for warmth at night.

The broccoli seedlings growing in the basement and greenhouse were planted the same day, but look quite different, with the greenhouse plants looking happier.  It is quite a bit warmer in the greenhouse during the day, and there is more light.  But, the ones in the basement will be fine too, based on experience.

We'll need more seedlings each year, with the gradually expanding vegetable beds.  Also, I expect to have a few of the following seedlings for sale this year:  brocolli, onions, table tomatoes (red and yellow), heirloom tomatoes (a mix), maybe some Amish paste tomatoes, and cucumbers.

We also start various squash from seedlings, to give the squash a better chance against the bugs.  But, squash is easy to start from seed, so we only grow enough seedlings for the garden here.

Some people came by last year looking for seedlings for table tomatoes and cucumbers, so we are growing a few extra of those.   As usual, if they don't sell, we'll try to find room in the garden for them.

Last year, we ended up planting a lot of left-over broccoli seedlings.  But, I just cooked the last package of blanched summer broccoli from the freezer this week so, none of the broccoli went to waste!

And, now I know to plant lots of broccoli this year.   I like to make a big pile of broccoli with melted cheddar cheese on top for lunch in the winter.   I also use broccoli in beef stir fry, with onions from the cellar, although sometimes I substitute blanched and frozen string beans or carrots for the broccoli, for variety.  Yum.    The blanched and frozen vegetables taste better than the frozen vegetables from the store.   Not sure why, but they really do.

Onions seedlings in the greenhouse

Counting the signs

The robins came back last week.  The spring peepers (frogs) started singing this week, at night.      I think I saw the first barn swallow this morning, returned from South America.  The forsythia bloomed today.

George said he'd like it if I started writing these things down, when they happen, so we could keep track from year to year.

Later edition:
4/19/2012:  first dandelions

April: seedlings and sinking

Last year, I tried using a small greenhouse on the property for some seedlings, but they didn't get enough light and did poorly.  I hadn't thought much more about using the greenhouse since.  Then, I read somewhere that one could add lights.  Not sure why it took me so long to figure this out.

Now we have some lights in the greenhouse, and I'm enjoying trying to figure out how to add more.   The onion seedlings have been moved there, and seem quite happy.  The broccoli seedlings may go out there soon too.

The tomatoes have been started.   The picture above is of some of the seedling flat labels that I've been making on the kitchen table.

On the "uh oh" side of things, our tiller is slowly sinking.   We parked it in a new location last winter, and put it up on blocks as usual.  Unfortunately, the ground has shifted with the frost, and gone soft, so that the tiller is sinking pretty dramatically, and turning over gradually.  I don't want to try to move it yet, given how soft the ground is so...I check it from time to time and worry over it.

Our old truck went in for inspection and needs LOTS of work.   If it isn't one thing, it is another.  Pretty labels though, huh?  Got to like those labels.   Lining them up gives me a sense of control.   :)

Later added note:  George came home toward the end of the day, and I asked him for a second opinion on the tiller.   He said he isn't worried.

Spring: Geese, Onions, Winter Rye, and Warm Morning Windows

We are having an early spring, maybe.   I've heard Canada Geese flying over at night this week.    The last two mornings there was a flock in the hayfield resting in the early morning.   The geese are lovely, but I didn't get close enough to get a picture, since they need their rest.

I've been wandering around starting to make mental lists of winter damage, and things to do. 


The old wind vane on the garage is still pointing straight out into the hayfield, northwest, which is the direction the hard winds come from in the winter, most of the time.

Some of the smaller cedars in our house's windbreak bowed over in the opposite direction from that wind this winter, and probably won't last.    Should plant some more.

The onion seeds have sprouted under lights; the first seedlings up for the spring garden.

The vegetable beds are green with winter rye, and the old lawn is brown.  All the snow if off the beds.  The one in the front is old, and the one along the fence was started last year.  This year, I want to expand out into the old pasture, beyond the fence.

And, the most reliable indicator of spring:  the two baskets in the east windows in the living room both had cats in them this morning.   If this spot is this warm....wow, maybe an early spring.

From the Cellar to the Sky

This was the first winter that we used the cellar and a freezer for storing veggies grown here.   I never stored vegetables for the winter before.  With both of us working full-time off-farm, there didn't seem to be the time.   This is not much of an excuse, as I have friends who work long hours and store vegetables.  But, it was our excuse, and I hold to my excuses firmly.

Now I wonder why in the world I took so long to start.   It is February 19th.  In the photo are some of the veggies I brought up this morning from the cellar, chopped up, and put in a crock pot for a beef stew supper.

We are keeping lots of veggies quite nicely without any refrigeration or blanching.  I know this should not be a surprise to me, but somehow it is.   I grew up with refrigeration and store-bought vegetables.   We also have a further selection of vegetables from the farm in the freezer.

Are the veggies in the cellar perfect?  No.   A few have gone bad.   Some of the carrots now have a bit of rot that can be cut away.   I don't need perfect.   I know very few people who do, and those tend to have stomach aches.

For awhile, after the ground froze, the good veggie peelings were getting thrown out with the trash.      I didn't want to buy and try one of those big turning-composting contraptions, and hand turning a frozen pile under snow is difficult, particularly as you get older.  We aren't keeping animals capable of generating enough manure to keep a pile warm.  I tried one of those small, stationary, vertical compost bins for awhile, but it seemed to be viewed as a casserole dish by the local raccoons.  

So, now we have put an old covered trash can in a garage, and the good compost-type stuff is getting tossed there.  Will this practice attract someone unwanted into the garage?   If so,  I need a plan B, which I don't have yet.   But, I do have lots of nice old vegetable peelings and coffee grinds, that may make it into a compost pile in the spring.   Good.

I'm a planner and a great worrier by nature.  Actually, I am the designated family worrier.  I do an annual budget and track all expenses, both for the family and the farm.   I object to tossed coffee grinds.   I follow people around who are sniffling and push tea and honey on them.  I object to George (husband) wearing sneakers rather than boots in the winter, although it does not seem to make him sick.  I wonder if we will run out of wood for the stove before spring.

I don't worry about the price of gas, because George worries about it.    I do not believe in duplicating worrying.   The fact that neither of us can do anything about the price of gas is immaterial.    Worrying is in our nature. 

I was just reading the entry from Cold Antler Farm, a blog I enjoy.   She (the writer) is not a worrier, and has accomplished a lot, which is wonderful.  She took on a farm with no savings and is making it work.  She has pushed through lots of mistakes.  She might get the pony she has always wanted, and soon.

The owner of Cold Antler Farm is younger than I am, has been farming longer, and probably has less arthritis in her hands.   I like reading her blog.  Maybe her last entry will give me courage to try more things here.  Isn't it wonderful when people give you courage?

Why didn't I start putting up vegetables sooner!    Maybe a little less planning and worrying is in order.

I want a pony.   Chunky, strong, and cheerful pony.   Ok, there, I said it.

Bears

April 2012 note:  the bears have left the den, and moved on with their lives.   Maybe IF&W will be able to do something like this in the future.   That would be lovely.

Entry:

It is worth checking watching and listening to the mother bear in her den with her two cubs, born January 16th (courtesy a live streaming web cam placed by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (IF&W)):  http://bangordailynews.com/link/watch-mama-bear-lugnut-and-her-cubs/

The mother bear is often sleeping, but she might be waking up a bit and checking on the cubs.    I find the sounds more fascinating than the video.  The first time I watched, she was making a sound that, to me, was very similar to a sound our old coon cat makes when he is sleeping, snoring and content.  I can't help but think it is soothing to the cubs.   She makes other gentle sounds too.  When I think of bears, I tend to think of the frightening one that tried to get into a friend's barn, or the ones I was warned about avoiding as a child.   I feel differently now.

More mild weather: snow, sleet and ice

Winter came back spitting a mix of snow, sleet and ice.   The nearby University of Maine is shut down for the day.   Rain is in the forecast for this afternoon.

I like the way the front door mat looks after I drag a shovel across it to clear the doorway.

Another indicator of a mild winter so far -- the farm sign by the front door normally blows off a few times at the beginning of the season.  After a little cursing, it is brought in for the winter.  The sign is still there!

I just came inside from clearing the driveway and paths.   There isn't much snow, but I wanted to try to move some of it before the rain creates slush, and the evening turns the slush to ice.

I cut a gentle path up to the house, and to the barn.We use a small John Deere tractor and snow blower attachment.   I like that it can spread the snow thinly over a wide area, rather than making big snow plow mounds.  The area looks less disturbed and quieter.

I'm in a good mood because there wasn't much wind, and that wind was heading the right way, so I didn't get a snoot full of sleet from the blower.   Soaked hat and gloves are recovering by the wood stove.   Hot chocolate is calling.

Bare ground January day

 

I enjoy January thaws, as long as nothing floods too badly.   But, seeing bare ground like this the third week in January, when we've had little snow so far, seems very odd.

I walked around to take pictures and document conditions, which I don't normally get to do this time of year.   They will help me to plan for fixing things when the weather warms up.   I am grateful this board fencing behind the sheep is still standing.   Only a matter of time until it comes down, and I need to get something in the budget for replacement materials.

Also in the picture are the three ancient sheep.   It is not commercial to keep old sheep around and I forever feel guilty but, well, at this point they are here for good if I can help it.   At least they don't cost much to keep, since we put up our own hay.  It wouldn't feel as much like home without at least some sheep around.  These are descended from the first two shetland/finn cross ewes I ever owned.

The green patch in the picture below is the "new" garden plot that was started last year.   I turned in a lot of aged horse manure, planted to buckwheat and turned in, then planted to winter rye that will be turned in, along with lime, this spring.   Started with basic clay, so it pretty much needs almost everything.   I'll probably be imprudent and plant something here this year, and see how it goes. Lots of happy weeds are expected.

Another "new plot" that just barely got started last fall is beyond the fence, in the old pasture.   Last fall I skimmed it with the cultivator, and piled on aged horse manure and grass clippings.   It grew up in mowed pasture plants before winter, which will hold the soil.    This year, it will likely get turned over deeper, have more inputs added, and be planted to green manure for the season.   

I haven't figured out where to start the "next" plot yet but...probably it will be in the old pasture too. I'm trying to expand the area in vegetables a bit each year:  more food for family; more food for community.

January 21st. Sunny and bright.

Oooooh....seed catalogs.   I'm late deciding what to order this year, but finally got that Christmas feeling going....looking forward to a garden in the spring brings on a bit of the same endorphins as looking toward Christmas presents when a kid.

My favorite catalogs are Fedco and Johnny's.   Both Maine catalogs made the top 10 in the national list of seed-order catalogs in Mother Earth News recently, and very well deserved.   I think Fedco would have been higher in the list if it wasn't a co-op, but because it is a co-op it is better priced and funky - wouldn't change a thing.