Or more like Butterflies! The warmth from the sun is waking everything up! Spring bed prep is earnestly underway, and the urge/anxiety to get seeds and transplants into the ground is strong, but my bones tell me to wait and be more patient. My low temps are still low enough that it could mean disaster, even with frost fabric and low tunnels. It has been a 'mild' winter only in precipitation, not in temps and that only means that the soil surface still freezes every night and takes until noon every day to thaw. This means I get time in the mornings to keep sowing more seed flats for when I can plant, prep bags and labels for market season, and plan for all the fun extras I want to dive into this year (like Farm Tours!) before I get to go outside and enjoy the warmth of the sun myself while cleaning beds of the debris I left on them in the fall as an insulator from those very same cold (and snowless) winter nights. ![]() The perennial Lupines are also beginning to bud and grow out, so the debris removal was a chance to get excited for more and more blooms and seeds! These are the bushes I grew from seed and saved this years Lupine Seeds from and it's a great time to get them planted. They, obviously, don't mind the frost (it still is getting down to 20F here) and it gives them a head start on everything else. Since they are perennials, don't expect too many flowers the first year, but each year the bush comes in bigger and bigger with more and more blooms! ![]() One of the key steps, getting the propane heater online, is done! A few nights of testing out which setting is needed depending upon the outside temp so that I have a steady temp of at least 50F inside are paramount before I entrust the care of those growing 'mater plants to the Dragon Dome and the Fire Breather! That involves going out a few times every night to check how it is faring, and so far it's very good and is easily keeping it 55F inside on some of the lower settings even when it is 20F outside! ![]() The hens also get to enjoy the sunshine as I whittle away at the different tasks that need to be done before mobilizing them on the pasture. Next steps are to remove the front 'safety/snow' panels and pull out those many t-posts that held their runs down through all the wind storms! In the meantime, they don't mind mingling! What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm!
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A great weekend hike , a bit of (maybe last?) snow, strong winds, and a deep freeze. It's spring in Montana as usual. The spring chores continue as the farm begins to shed the mantle of winter and look forward to spring and summer planting! The hens enjoy the warm days even is the nights are still a bit chill. And the seeds saved from last year are finally separated and packed up! Most are available in the online store with a few more to come next week The ducks definitely don't mind a little snow and even the hens tolerated it as long as I scraped enough aside so they could see that there was for sure ground not too far beneath it ![]() On Saturday, I hosted an Outsiety (www.outsiety.com) event for women to hike along the Kootenai on Bighorn Sheep Trail. It was a wonderful day with a special side trip up to see a special waterfall. There are other Outsiety events all year long and I'll probably host a few more this summer and in winter! All events are free! ![]() A deep freeze with a low of 14F hit Tuesday morning. All the seedlings in the greenhouse were double (and even tripled covered) in frost cloth, the emergency electric heater was on (it can't heat the whole thing, but can take the edge off). A pre-dawn check in let me know that all was ok and it got down to 28F in the greenhouse and 32F under the cloths. What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm! The snowpack is gone while the chill isn't but the grass begins to grow as the deer return to the field. The germination are in the cabin attic is always full, while more and more flats move out to the greenhouse to spend warm days in the sun and cool nights under frost fabric inside the dome. And now the prep work for spring really begins. The winter electrification of the hen huts will be removed. The old plant material from last years' crops will be cleared from the rows. All while tending to the tender and changing needs of the baby plants that fill the many seed flats. This is the season of anxiety and excitement when the crush of the season hasn't hit full speed so the mind can still dwell on the possibilities and potentials. My own mind and heart hears the call of spring as my hopes and fears for the coming season begin their own germination, for the land is calling and it awaits my reply. The old tomato vines are starting to get cleared! It's a fresh start for the Dragon Dome, with more to go! When the sun is shining but the air is still crisp, Hella's favorite space is in the greenhouse where it's toasty and warm! What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm! My days are pretty predictable right now. Fill seed flats, seed seed flats, water seed flats, place seed flats under lights on the side of the warm attic. As seeds germinate, remove the humidity dome, place seed flats under lights on shelves (so a certain curious cat doesn't get too curious). When all that space is full (at about 40 flats) move enough seed flats into the greenhouse to make room under those lights for more seed flats. Every morning I wake up the chickens and uncover the plants in the greenhouse. Every night I put the chickens to sleep and tuck in the plants. Seed flats. Seed flats. Seed flats. Just as the sowing begins to wane, the planting will begin. Then I will have another, empty pile of seed flats that get cleaned, dried, and stored until the next round. Even though I keep sowing through most of the year to keep a steady supply of veg and blooms, the bulk of the seed flats still happen in the spring. A rush and collision of time, temperature, and sunlight to grow before the cool of winter comes again. ![]() Seeding more flats each week means that the farthest along ones get the boot to the greenhouse (except the tomatoes, they get pampered for a few more weeks before I feel good moving them out only to be pampered in the greenhouse too!) I better work on clearing those old tomato vines before it's too hard to move around all the seed flats! The warmth of the sun and some rare dry dirt in spring means it's bath time for everyone! What's available this week?
Where to find it all? I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm! Recipes for Food Eaters
Seeding many flats, prepping the greenhouse, filling the greenhouse, and more outside work (even if it's not soil work, that's still well frozen) are some of the spring tasks that are keeping me busy! With the warming temps and the melting ice pack the hens got to play in the mud, even as I try to avoid it! There'll be the usual microgreens and eggs available this week! It'll be the last of the pea shoots for a week or two as I await my seed order to arrive (it's gotta come from Canada!) Yard sale items are still available too! Enjoy the warm sunny weather while it's here and remember that winter may still have a last reminder to send us, so don't start putting those plants out yet! ![]() They get to enjoy the warm spring sunshine, and a greenhouse that can get 40F degrees warmer than outside when that full sun shines down on it. BUT, at night the well below freezing temps creep in so that crumpled bundle of frost fabric is tripled covered over the entire shelf unit to keep them cozy until that sun shines again the next morning! ![]() It is a thing so ordinary and commonplace in the world, but watching those seeds that I hug into the ground germinate always makes me let out a little child-like squeal of joy and feel a rush of excitement, this may be what other people feel when they see human babies, but not me, I feel it when I see plant babies!!! â–¡â–¡ More deliveries arrived with CFAC Grant-funded goodies! This time a pile of landscape fabric rolls and a huge heap of stuff from Johnny's including fancy insect netting, a floral stem cutter, and a stack of special wire hoops to hold up that insect netting and my own frost fabric! A few more deliveries are on the way and they keep getting bigger!!! My first day in the field was spent organizing the new shed since I just tossed most things in last fall. The first step was to toss it all outside again! It felt so good to get that precious (and so very very delicate) frost fabric daisy-chained and stored up where the rodents can't get to it! The shed looks so much bigger when you toss most of it's content out into the field and pretty soon it will be much emptier since most of those tools and equipment will be put to work reducing weeds, protecting from frost, and generally making it possible for me to farm in this cold, windy valley! It's not just stuff, it's important stuff!!! What's available this week?
Where to find it all? I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm! Recipes for Food Eaters
Spring comes when it will, like it does every year. No amount of time I spent wishing it was now will work, besides there is so much more to get done! Even if it arrived tomorrow, I wouldn't be ready. So I wait, knowing that I planned for it to arrive per it's usual plans. Seed sowing calendars were poured over in January so I wouldn't have to fret now. But I still have to fight the urge to plant all the seeds! Luckily, I can fend off a little of that anxious excitement with sowing and enjoying the greenness of the microgreens. I am out of the sunflower shoots for awhile, and soon the peas, but seeds are on order and will hopefully be here soon! Sometimes the anticipation for spring can almost be better than the actual season since spring for me means go, go, go!!!! ![]() The farm and I were awarded a Field Tested Grant From CFAC in Missoula for a host of farm tools to help make me a lean, mean plant growing machine! And the first purchase has arrived! A floral tool belt to hold snip, pruners, scissors, phone, pens, notepad, and whatever else I need while I plant, tend, or harvest. It's handmade by a small leather-working company in the US and I hope it will help stop me dropping my snips in the field all day! What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm! It's been a week of the weather whipping you back and forth, as it has for much of the country. The hens have had to deal with some discomfort but the seedlings are growing happily in their special attic space which I crawl into and check on them every morning and every evening (just like I do once they are planted outside and I have to tuck them into their various frost protections every night and open them up to the sun every day). It's good routine! And even if the hens are unhappy with the weather, the ducks are ecstatic and have been busy laying egg after egg! Hopefully I can get back to tinkering on the many tiny construction projects next week (the workspace is essentially a wind tunnel) because before I know it all the little baby seedlings will be grown up and ready to get planted outside! What was snow one day, was a slushy slurry the next! ![]() Every year I'm tempted to get a fancy seeder that can seed a whole flat in under a minute and then I don't. There are multiple reasons, like they use a vacuum and vacuums are noisy, I often don't seed a flat with the same single variety (especially with the flowers), and they won't work with a lot of the more irregular shaped flower seeds, but truly it comes down to this: I like to touch the seeds. Creepy of me right? It may be 'woowoo' but I like to give them a little sense of hope, a little feeling of gratitude for their current and future self, a 'seed hug' if you will. So go forth and not only hug a tree but also hug a seed because it is just a baby tree! ![]() The first sowing of Cherry Tomatoes are growing well, and the second sowing got done this weekend. In another week or two, they'll each get upgraded to larger pots and smothered with as much indoor light I can give them as I don't trust putting them into the greenhouse (even with a heater) until March/April. I sleep better knowing they are safe from a sudden overnight cold snap. ![]() I'm finally getting to winnowing and sifting the saved seeds from last year! I should have done it months ago, but that's life. Every time you save seeds you are choosing individuals that are thriving in your region and local conditions. This is the perennial Lupine that grows big and bushy, with tall spires of purple, blue, pink, and white blooms that are beloved by bees and can handle frosts! I'm working on prepping the cold hardy varieties first so they will be available for planting as the conditions are right! The hens may get wet feet in their run, but in their coop it is drier so most stay in there, but the Teal Hut (home to the two bantam roosters) had a fully flooded run with water about 3-4 inches deep and they are tiny dudes, so I put their food and water in their hut and they have to spend some time cooped up until the water flows away, as chickens are not swimmers, especially little plump dudes with feathered feet! It looks like I can now designate the Farm Laborer's trailer and the Cabin as lake front property! 😂 What's available this week?
Where to find it all? I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm! Recipes for Food Eaters
It was a chilly week for everyone! Everyone made it through and only a few eggs were lost to being frozen solid, or at least I ate them after they thawed ;). Hella stayed huddled up in her blanket pile on the couch while I fed the woodstove and turned on the other heaters too. It was a good excuse to tidy up inside, organize the seed starting area, and chop more firewood! And remember, every day gets us closer to fresh grass, leafy trees, and flowers! Oh how I miss flowers!!! There are some dried flowers left if you really need a flower fix and, of course, there are eggs and microgreens available online to order or email me to reserve them for you! The eerie red glow from the coops means the hens are warm and toasty! The last bigger inside project is done! It was an epoxy float coat, like a bar top, for my wooden bathroom counter with a live edge also filled with glitter!!! The best way to enjoy glitter as an adult is to encase it in epoxy! What's available this week?
Where to find it all? I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm! Recipes for Food Eaters![]() A yummy winter bowl of warm polenta with crispy mushrooms and brussel sprouts and an egg (make it even better with a duck egg!) make a great lunch or dinner to keep your tummy warm and full! Find the Recipe here. From Dishing up the Dirt It's a perfect week to get any of the everlasting bouquets or wreaths for your sweetie! But if the low maintenance dried flowers aren't your thing, you can always get a Farm Buck$ card toward future farm goodies. It works just like a usual online gift card and it's good for anything I sell, whether it be the fresh veggies, pasture raised eggs, or the bouquets of fresh flowers that are just beginning their season as I plant the seeds! The hens are all tucked up in their heated huts to keep warm and toasty on these frosty nights while I stay warm feeding the woodstove with all the logs it wants! Hella gets to patrol the hayloft for some rodent sized squatters and the wormies get wriggly with it in the worm bin! Speaking of those hungry hens, they love it when I forget to eat my greens since it means they get them instead! Even if they aren't as good about sharing as I am. And when I'm busy in the woodshop, that means Hella gets some playtime in the barn, especially the hayloft, where she gets to chase after all the mice and packrats that nest and scurry around! ![]() (sorry if they are a little squirmy and creepy!!!) You may have forgotten about my wormies in their worm bin, but I haven't! I've been feeding them the veggie scraps that even the hens don't care for (like onion skins, moldy strawberries, and squash rinds) and they've been growing, multiplying, and turning all the ucky ickiness into beautiful black gold! These ones are taking a water cooler break from all the vermicomposting below so they can dish all the dirt and juicy gossip on their other wormy roommates! What's available this week?
Where to find it all? I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm! Recipes for Food Eaters
A little bit of rain and a little bit of snow leaves a lot of ice underfoot. But the ducks and hens get to enjoy their snow, rain, and ice free runs while I slip and slide around ensuring they have plenty of food and water! Even while it is drab outside, the flats of seeds are greening up inside and there will be lots more to come over the next weeks. I try to give each one a little boost of encouragement which gets harder the faster they come. Some of the smaller construction projects get done, just as more get started, and the last of the dried flowers are getting made into some early Valentines/Galentines bouquets! Another hut has graced the farm with it's presence but it holds no clucks or quackers, only a tidy place for the generator so sit idly by until I need it. Some new Everlasting Bouquets to share with your everlasting sweetheart are available in the store this week and more will be added next week as well! What's available this week?
Where to find it all? I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm! Recipes for Food Eaters
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AuthorI'm Farmer Megan with a life full of cackles, clucks, quacks, weeds, crazy kitten, and one tiny, senior, blind dog. Archives
March 2021
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