The pruning party was fun even though the weather was dreary and the attendance minimal. We so appreciated our helpers, Nikki and family and Jen and family, both newish members to the farm community. Günter showed his pruning prowess and cut back much of the old Graven stein. Dee and Dan helped on Saturday, the day before the party with the good weather. Inge and Kids helped last weekend and then we got Juve on the trees with the chainsaw. We managed to whip the orchard into shape and clean all the debris with our kids last Sunday. Dave, our arborist member friend is injured but lent us his chipper and Juve ran the family crew so that within 2 hours the orchard area looked clear and ready for the coming season.
We have also been busy cleaning the greenhouses and planting seeds in flats. The first seeds planted on 1/20 sprouted by 1/27 and have been moved off the hot table. The second seeding also already came off the hot table. We have started a few of the very early tomato varieties which will hopefully be transplanted into the hoop house by late March. The onions, peas, and broccoli have been seeded and we anxiously await their emergence.
In the field the garlic planted in mid October has finally sprouted and those warm days last week really got them growing. They will not be harvested until July, but it sure warms the heart to see them take off so soon. We have overwintering broccoli that seems on track, we hope it makes it until we start in mid April.
As for the goats, well, we had some early deliveries in December and all the rest have been in suspended animation since then. The 5 early kids are doing great. Bambi is the only singleton and she is so big and friendly that you can’t miss her. The other two sets of twins are frisky and starting to eat hay.
We have 11 more does to deliver, all their udders are bagging up with milk but don’t seem to progress from there. They are huge and look like they are going to pop. .We’ll keep you posted. Bellatrix the Holstein calf has grown so much she dwarfs the goats. She is so friendly and knows how to get the attention she craves and the grain.
One of our lambs gave birth to twins, the other ewes aren’t due until March. They sure are cute!
We still have a few more spots for the 2012 season, both weekly and every other week shares. Have interested parties email us with questions.