There have been a few developments over here at the farm since the last entry…
Aside from the familiar smell of horse manure thawing, now that the ground is warming up, we’ve been able to set up our small greenhouse. After looking at many an inspiring design, Jean-Pierre opted for building a south-facing 40 x 6 foot greenhouse leaning up against the driveshed. It is the most cost efficient and logical emplacement — since the driveshed already has 2 outlets and is near a well, it makes a great deal of sense to make the most of what is already there. We will also be building two small movable hoop houses out in the field to accommodate the nightshades who like it a bit warmer.
Speaking of which, as of last Thursday, all the tomatoes (all 19 varieties!), peppers, and eggplants have been seeded. The onions, leeks and shallots were in the seed trays last month and are now growing wildly — they look so unruly with their long wavy strands flopping all over the place. All the herbs were also seeded a few weeks back, and we’ll be reseeding the rosemary because the germination rate was not ideal. The radicchio and borage grew so quickly we’ve already had to transplant them once, and let me tell you, that was quite the evening! We bought this nifty little block maker which means that we can squeeze at least 320 baby plants per tray instead of the conventional 128 cell trays. Since the greenhouse wasn’t up yet, space was at a premium and we really were overflowing with little (and less little) seedlings!
And the yearly “rigole” ritual has begun. Taking care of drainage is always important in the spring time, so fixing the ditches and digging a few new ones is a priority. We’ve decided to rent a back-hoe to dig a small pond by the edge of the forest which should help with the natural drainage of the soil (it’s a lower area which is shaded by the tree line so the snow takes longer to melt there) and also with potential water supply problems in the heat of summer — you can never be too prepared.
On a more personal note, our daughter Kamé will turn 2 in two weeks, she has also decided the make me regret ever saying that we may bypass the famous terrible twos — we have differences of opinion hourly. *sigh* We are also house-swapping the the grand-parents (June and Lloyd) next door on May 11th and we’ve started that process too — we’re very excited about having space in which to plan a slew of new projects! Spring really is the bubbling with ideas season over here with all this semi-dormant energy coming up to the surface. I’m glad that season’s change because I don’t think I could keep up this level of activity 365 days a year! We hope that Spring is finding all of you happy and healthy. Have a lovely, albeit rainy, Wednesday!
No Comments on "Greenhouse and little updates"