This week saw the completion of some projects that have been on my list for a long time and getting to cross them off felt great! The baby ducks got to move into their permanent home in the yellow hut with a brand new run. It was there first time enjoying grass and dirt and bugs. They took to it like ducks to bugs (and water). I completed some efficiency projects that make my job farming a whole lot easier and your veggies store better and last longer with my new bubbler (for washing) and spinner (for drying). They can clean and dry 10Xs more greens in the same time as I did before so harvest and processing days go a lot smoother! With the return of the cloudless nights, there is also the return of the near nightly threat of frosts. The crops get their blankets pulled over them every night and pulled back every day and any frost-sensitive crops will be planted under plastic-covered row tunnels that will stay up all summer. I wonder how many other farmers provide daily turn-down service to their plants? ![]() Ah, the bubbler. A little jacuzzi bath for the veg, literally as that is a jacuzzi motor. It is ice cold, no bubble bath, and I don't supply them with a glass of champagne but they get really clean so they can't complain. And neither do I since it washes those greens (and radishes and head lettuce and almost anything that will fit in it and not be too delicate to go on a little white water adventure) really well and is fun to watch them roll around in it! ![]() My spinner! I'm calling it the dizzy wobbler cause watching it works makes ya kinda dizzy! It was a little nerve-wracking to cut into and rip apart a brand new washing machine (especially one that is nicer than my own) but it works so amazingly and is a huge improvement on my household salad spinner for drying greens! What's available this weekend?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at the Farmers Market at Libby, this Thursday, May 30th from 3-7pm I'll be at the Kalispell Farmers Market, this Saturday, June 1st from 900am to 1230pm!
0 Comments
Heavy rains last week have cleared and the sun has returned (albeit with clear skies at night and thus frosts). That hasn't daunted the lettuce which has enjoyed the soaking rains and mild temps. And while the soil was too wet for me to get much done in the field, it afforded me some time to get construction and organization projects worked on. The tulips are nearing their end with this week being the last big flush of them. There will be a little next week but not bouquets full of them again! The baby ducks have grown so much they graduated from the little stock tank in my room to the big stock tank in the greenhouse. Soon they will be ready to go into their own mobile hut and enjoy the green grass and sunshine (I'm working fast on their mobile run to get it ready as soon as possible). ![]() The ducklings thoroughly enjoy their new digs but ducks are naturally extremely skittish and any change in routine sends them into a tizzy (like if I wear a different hat when changing food or water). So the move to the greenhouse took a little while to calm down from, but more space to chase each other, some fresh grass nibbles, the occasional ray of sunshine or breeze, and some patient hand feeding got them back to their happy chirps and not panicking at the sight of the huge monster that grabs them and moves them around (which also happens to be the same monster that feeds them and gives them the occasional splashy bath time) What's available this weekend?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at the Farmers Market at Libby, this Thursday, May 23rd from 3-7pm I'll be at the Kalispell Farmers Market, this Saturday, May 25th from 900am to 1230pm! The tulips are really starting to pop! The duck babies are growing, growing, growing! Hella catches rodents, at least one a day! The trees are finally leafing out and the weeds are already getting ahead of me! But projects are being completed and tasks are getting crossed off the list! ![]() The ranunculus start to go in. The little dry corms are soaked for a few hours then planted into a tray of starter mix. In a few weeks, they sprout up and are ready for the ground. The corms can be dug up and saved for the future (they can't survive freezing, so unless you live in San Diego or Florida, out they come). Last year the moles ate most of the corms before they were ready to come out, so this year I am experimenting with lining their trench with hardware mesh and using some other various deterrent methods. They'll be covered with a low tunnel to protect them from my summer frosts before I am done, but with the mild weather right now they get to enjoy the open sky. It can be a lot of work for the little corms, but the flowers are beautiful, delicate, and can last up to a month in a vase. Definitely worth it!!! ![]() Hella (named after the Norse Goddess of Death & the Underworld :) ) is living up to her name and helping to save my tulips, lilies, ranunculus, beets, ... (the list goes on!) from these little pests. It has been one a day for the past week, this one was her second of the day, taken from my main field. ![]() The ducklings are growing and making a mess! Ducks are quieter than chickens but they love their water and splatter it, their food, their poop everywhere. Sometimes they just smack their bill in it getting more water on their bedding than in their mouth. One project not complete is building a full size run for their hut so that they will be safe from all the predators, including Hella, while they are still quite small. So they get to stay inside for a few more days and I get to have sleeping buddies. Yep they are in my bedroom where I can refill their food and water when needed. I think this may be the definition of bringing your work home with you. What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at the The Farmers Market at Libby on Thursday, May 16th from 3-7pm at the Chamber. I won't be at the Kalispell Market this Saturday as the field greens need a little more time to be ready and I can use the time to catch up on planting and the million other projects that build up! I'll be back there next week! It's a new beginning for The Farmers Market at Libby. The market has been in a process of revitalization and reorganization in the hopes to bring new vendors, increase community involvement, and just make it better. Seeing everyone's hard work come together on opening day will be fantastic! Also, a special Mother's Day market at Troy on Friday. Stop in and pick up something special for your someone special! On the farm, spring has fully arrived with new leaves opening on the aspens and the larch greening up. Planting and bed prep is in full swing and take precedence over other projects. Frost still looms nightly, so covering and uncovering frost fabric on beds, bring flats into the house/greenhouse, and draining irrigation is a daily chore. With the warm days the tulips are budding and all the early Narcissa have opened with the later ones soon to follow. The greenhouse is still full of flats, but the tomato beds are finally getting filled and the soil is warming up for them to go in in the next week or so. ![]() My Dad is making good progress with building the cold room in the back of the barn. It will be super insulated to keep all the veggies, flowers, and eggs cool in the summer and I am going to experiment with heating it in winter to grow microgreens and plant starts. It will be much easier than using a corner of my attic! ![]() Some of the hens enjoying an evening snack of wheat berries and sunflowers. Since this part of the pasture isn't the greatest grass, I am using the natural digging & scratching habits of the hens to help me remove a lot of it (the roots are still under there though) so I can follow with seed mix. Note their matching hen saddles to protect their feather from the rooster! What's available this weekend?
Where to find it all?
Opening Day at the new Farmers Market at Libby, this Thursday, May 9th from 3-7pm! Troy Farmers Market, this Friday, May 10th from 330-630pm. Kalispell Farmers Market, this Saturday, May 11th from 900am to 1230pm! It's been a long winter and a quick spring, but the fields are now clear and planting has begun! Plus the chickens keep churning out eggs and the baby ducklings have arrived!!! What's available this weekend?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at the Kalispell Farmers Market, this Saturday, May 4th from 900am to 1230pm! |
AuthorI'm Farmer Megan with a life full of cackles, clucks, quacks, weeds, crazy kitten, and one tiny, senior, blind dog. Archives
April 2023
Categories
All
|