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You might think all the rain and wind meant I could sit inside and ponder life while the soil was too wet to plant or work in, but no, there were seeds to start inside (mainly of plants that I put out too early hoping different frost covers would be enough but nope!), website updates to complete, emails to respond to, muddy floors to clean, and food to prep and store away for when the rains clear and it go, go, go! I did manage a few hours to read snuggled up under some blankets with Hella and a hot cup of tea. This week there will mainly be some Tulips available as the Daffodils are pretty much done for. The microgreens will be a little short on variety as I ran out of my usual soil mix and had to make do with a different brand that basically hindered all germination. But I hoofed it over to Kalispell to get my usual and sowed extra for next week! It only affected the Mild and Spicy Mixes, so it's a great week to try the Pea and Sunflower Shoots. This is the absolute last week for the Yard Sale items so if you need a mug, bowl, or fancy plate snatch it up before it all gets spread around to the thrift stores!  With all the rain the river is running high!  The rain also makes all the wormies, big and small, seek out drier spots, like under tarps, feed bowls, and chicken huts, as well as in the driveway!  That also means the hens are extra eager to get out and gobble up those worms  But when it's sunny and warm out and the worms are well underground, there is nothing left for a hen to do but bask in all that tummy-filled with worm glory!  Looks like someone had a whoopsie daisie in the wind the storm brought! This is the future farm stand and it is a sturdy thing! Once it gets topside up again, a few braces will help keep it that way  There are a variety of covers I use for many cops to protect them from the cold, but this one is new and it's for bugs! itty bitty flea beetles mainly which like to chomp on things like radishes, turnips, and arugula but this stretchy, finely woven mesh keeps them out! Two of the final Tulips are Dodogne, a spicy peach/tangerine, and Ivory Floradale, a ghostly creamy white!  Sometimes, especially with the Parrot Tulips, they grow a baby side shoot just above the bottom leaf. It's like a tiny extra flower for all the other creatures to enjoy! I usually like to leave a few blooms in the field, sometimes because I was too late to harvest or they weren't quite worth it to use as a cut flower (short stem or funky blossom) but others find use in them like these little spiders that live in flowers, lying in wait for a pollinating insect to stop for a meal only to become a meal themselves!  The lilies are trying to outpace the weeds!  And Hella practices her best gargoyle pose next to the 'big rock' that has lived on the porch steps since we placed it there a few year ago. As soon as it was there, it was like it always was there and should never be moved. What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at the Farmers Market at Libby, this Thursday from 3-630pm! I'll be at the Troy Farmers Market, this Friday from 330-630pm!
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Planting continues as the temps rise which also means the hens get their shade so they can be chill! There'll be Daffodils, Tulips, and Potted Ranunculus at the farmers markets as well as all the microgreens, eggs, Dragon's Balm, and Cactus Globes. Be sure to sign up for this season's first farm to table dinner at the farm! It's a great way to enjoy a delicious and expertly prepared meal with farm fresh goodies and see where those very goodies were grown. And just two more weeks to take advantage of all the Yard Sale items in the Online Farm Store because after that they go away!  It's the beginning of Tulip Season! Welcome Mysterious Parrot and Marguerite to the Farm Family!  Tulips Season also means that Daffodil Season is almost gone so get them now or wait until next spring!  So many baby plants getting to grow in the big wide wild world!  While these perennial Columbines are getting ready to bloom like crazy. They have a mix of blue and purple flowers that look like clematis. I've got seeds available so you can grow your own !  The blazing sun means the shade cloths got thrown over the runs...  ...so the hens can bask in the that cool coolness!  The tomatoes are enjoying their Dragon Dome home while they get ready to grow their juicy fruit!  This Thursday and Friday I'll have the first of the potted up Ranunculus ready for planting and future blooming!  Hella enjoys the tarps since both the Gophers and the Mice enjoy them too, so whenever I move them she is not far off! What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at the Farmers Market at Libby, this Thursday from 3-630pm! I'll be at the Troy Farmers Market, this Friday from 330-630pm! The Daffodils are a bright beacon amongst rows of an ever increasing green while the trees begins to glow with newly unfurling buds. With the arrival of the Hummingbirds, the emergence of more and more Butterflies, Bees, and bugs, and the early spring flowers that rely upon their pollination and that they also rely upon for food, it feels like the world is waking up to color! The Tulips got the message and have begun gaining their tinted petals while the Dandelions bloom fiercely proud of their important standing as the first bee food. Even the clouds shift from dark and stormy to bright and clear. There will be more golden-, peach-, and cream-filled Daffodil Bouquets available at the market mixed in with the early bloomer Tulips. The lime green Mild and speckled burgundy Spicy Microgreen Mixes will be next to the nutty and dark Sunflower Shoots and the sweetly gray green Pea Shoots. The cheerful Meyer Lemons are waiting in the online store and the Rainbow Eggs filled with a golden yolk are all nestled in their cartons waiting to break free, while the creamy dreamy Duck Eggs chill in the cooler with visions of lemon curd and cake! Which ones will you take home this week?  A rare opportunity with a chilly companion to get an up close look while it warms itself from the deep cold of evening in the morning sun. I never noticed before that they are so furry!  When the sun shines and I have a full hand of blooms, I often lift them up to Jumbo Peak who I live in the literal shadow of in winter. But in spring and summer the sun is high enough to crest even it's impressive peak!  The Hummingbirds trickled in a few weeks ago with one lone Rufous, but now they are here in force! So out come all the feeders and a few new ones. I won't need to fill them full until the years hatchlings fledge but I'm prepared!!!  The little lettuces are growing!  A sight like this is both a signal for joy and a heavy sigh. It means I got a lot planted but now I need to clean them. The Peonies are coming up and unfurling their fascinating leaves, but first when they emerge they look like alien hands that are pushing up from an earthen grave.  That's what happens when you tarp the grass! This will be a small expansion on the perennial plot for a few more rows of Peonies, maybe some Roses, and to have plenty of room for Tulips!  Stormy skies don't mean work stops, it only means you hurry (kinda like a yellow traffic light) until you hear the thunder - then you stop. The Dragon Dome got a new tail!!! Now the heat can really be let loose without it needing to be dismantled or broken by the wind. It required matching funky angles on a geodesic dome which demands both time and patience, two things I don't have in abundance, so big big thanks to my parents for using up all of their time and patience to get it fixed!  With it being so stormy some of the chickens decided it was better to stay inside...  ...while others threw caution to the wind!  The Tulips are just beginning...  ...while the Daffodils are in full swing!  And Hella watched all of the chicken commotion, weather drama, and human labor from her comfy cozy window seat What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at the Farmers Market at Libby, this Thursday from 3-630pm! I'll be at the Troy Farmers Market, this Friday from 330-630pm! It's here! Market Season begins this week with both The Farmers Market at Libby on Thursday from 3-630pm and the Troy Farmers Market on Friday from 330-630pm. I'll be at both with all the eggs, microgreens, fresh Daffodils, and other farm goodies that are available online for preorder, pick up, and dash or just to come and mosey on through to see what all the vendors have been up to over the winter. The greens and early veg is growing in the field and greenhouse and I hope to have the first in a few weeks but until then there are lots of Microgreens to choose from! I expanded the selection over winter so there are now Pea and Sunflower shoots as well as live Wheatgrass trays available alongside the Spicy and Mild Mixes and the, ever-coveted, basils. The Meyer Lemons and Yard Sale items are available online only for preorder and pickup at either market. I'll keep the Yard Sale items up for a few more weeks before it all goes to the thrift stores, so grab what you like while you can! Also, start planing some summer fun! The first date for the Farm Tour & Dinner is set for June 26th. More details will follow as we plan and prepare!  Just a little spring sunshine in petal form for you or someone special!  There are more following close behind! So many Daffodils about to pop.  And the Tulips are planning their takeover in a few weeks. First up will be my personal fav Akebono with it's golden petals that have just a hint of blush around the edges!  The Guineas have been roaming far and wide eating all sorts of things like ticks, worms, and grubs. Now I just have to watch for where their nest is so I can go in and raid it!  Riri is really giving that scratching her all!  The flowers are going into the soil in droves! This row has Cosmos, Calendula, Agrostemma, Silene, Poor Man's Orchid, Clarkia, and Feverfew. They can't handle the cool nights, so they got a low tunnel for cover just after I took cover from the sunshine and ate some lunch!  The Ranunculus got tucked into their mesh bottomed beds, aka sunken beds which protect their tasty corms from the hungry gophers, and a cover of hoop loops with frost fabric in case the hard frosts decide to strike again!  And not all the plants get to go outside, but each get a special place! I'll have some new special edition Cactus Globes available this week. Each glass globe can hang from a cord or sit on a windowsill to give it's tiny treasure of cacti and special finds a sunny spot to spend the day in.  The Drakes, male ducks, leave little favorite pebbles in the food or water bowls for their duckie hens. The hens don't do it when it's only them and the drakes don't do it if there are no hens around. So when I collect the food bowls every night, I drop the pebble back in the grass so they can 'gift' it to her again the next day.  The Cookie Monster has been assembled and it's almost time for it to start chipping up extra Alders to make some nice mulch! The front (left) and back (right) of the washing and packing area got some nice windblocker walls in place so the lettuce won't be swept away anymore! The clear panels still let me see what's going on around and keeps it from becoming too much of a cave. Thanks Mom & Dad for working to get it up in time for harvesting!  Can you find all the hens on the grassy knoll? (Hint: they like to hide behind one another!) What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at the Farmers Market at Libby, this Thursday from 3-630pm! I'll be at the Troy Farmers Market, this Friday from 330-630pm! |
AuthorI'm Farmer Megan with a life full of cackles, clucks, quacks, weeds, crazy kitten, and one tiny, senior, blind dog. Archives
April 2023
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