It feels great to be outside working again!

Okay, maybe not when it’s raining … or snowing … or blowing … or cold …

We’ve experienced all of these this week. But we have also had some beautiful weather recently, and it is good to be outside, getting some work done.

We had 5 dump truck loads of manure delivered in March. Usually it is delivered in the fall so we can spread it on the fields before winter and then leave it to decompose. Once the weather warms up in spring, we work it in and plant our vegetables in the re-energized soil. Manure is very beneficial, adding organic matter, feeding the microbial life in the soil and providing nutrients for the crops.

Receiving our manure in spring means it was too late to spread it on most of the farm. To ensure food safety, there should be 120 days between the time manure is spread and when vegetables are harvested. I was able to spread some in a field we won’t be planting until early fall.

But most of the manure I mixed with straw and leaves (that I stockpiled from last fall) then ran through the spreader to mix it and put it in a long windrow. By this fall it will be beautiful compost which I will then spread over the fields.

The fresh, hot manure really steams on a cold morning.

While the weather was nice, we pruned the raspberries. We used to spend a lot of time gathering all the canes we cut out and removing them from the raspberry patch – both to keep it looking clean, and to eliminate any diseases. Then we learned that some of our native bees nest in these hollow canes, so now we are far less fussy about cleaning them all up. We rely on the bees to pollinate our crops.

The first of the snow peas have been planted! Will they germinate in these cold temperatures? No! But the seeds will patiently wait for some warmth and then sprout. We seed them early – mostly for our own well-being. Planting the first seeds into the cold, spring soil boosts our spirits, & gives us confidence that spring is sure to come – sooner rather than later we hope.

Certainly the snow today was not a confidence booster!

It does feel spring-like in our greenhouse. Seeds are being planted and seeds are sprouting daily.

Here’s hoping for warm weather soon, so we can plant them out in the fields!

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Sage update.

Sage now weighs in at a healthy 31 lbs – and growing!

She has decided she likes riding on the golf carts – even if it means waiting …

She plays outside until she’s exhausted and then sleeps in the barn while we work.