The farming business continues to be dependent on the weather, fancy that! The well below average cold snap of February kept seedlings from germinating and weary farmers from venturing outside. It seems like much of February was spent in suspended animation. Carrots took 6 weeks to germinate (it says 10 – 14 days on the package). The beets were un-phased by the cold weather, maybe that’s why we love them so much.
We have plugged away at planting our greenhouses even though one has a river running through it from the run- off from fields to the east. The lettuces had just two leaves, the peas have barely sent out roots and the chard has a few colorful roots. Experience tells us that these micro plants will survive and thrive once it gets a bit warmer and the sun can break through the clouds.
The fields where we usually have peas, parsley, chard and beets planted already are muddy and promise to get muddier before they dry out. We sit poised to spread compost and till when they dry out. It seems like it will be a late start on the whole planting thing. (Keep reading after the slide show)
Goat Update
All 8 does have delivered their offspring. We have 16 kids, 14 bucks and 2 does. Never have the sexes been so lopsided. We were able to save several who caught cold or pneumonia (they were born during the cold snap) and most are thriving. We have one mama, “Rosa”, who has the smallest babies that don’t seem to grow. “Tiramisu” has abandoned one of her twins and we have to catch her and other goats to let him suckle three times a day. “Harry Potter”, “Poseidon”, “Crick Wing” and the rest of the gang are doing well.
As for now we plan to start the season with the first harvest on April 11th. It will be a challenge for these small plants to grow to feed all our subscribers, but a few good weeks of sun will make a huge difference. The opening potluck is scheduled for April 10th from 3 – 6 p.m. and will happen rain or shine. We have square dancing and pizza making planned as well as tours of the crops we hope will be growing by then.