Thursday, February 24, 2011

February 18, 2011

Here are just a few pics from last week.  Below is our other scarecrow friend made by third grade.
I was able to finish weeding and side dressing the raspberries...
... and clean out another quarter of the shed last Friday.  Consider this the "after" picture and just imagine junk everywhere for the before picture.
Coming soon will be pics of 5th grade's grand mushroom planting adventure.  Stay posted!!

This week all of the students are on break so it is a quiet week.  We'll be back to work on Monday.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Snakes and Scarecrows

Third grade planted parsley, mustard, kale and cilantro today in addition to the usual tasks of composting, cleaning up the site for our beehives in spring, and digging the fence line trench.  They also finished the scarecrows and stood them up.
This fellow has a mustache and beard, but the mustache ended up higher than expected so it looks a bit like an eyebrow.

The demolition crew in the beehive area also found a beautiful little garden snake that everyone got to admire and touch before its finder took it away to a nice quiet spot and set it free.
We noticed that it worked very hard to pull its head back and flatten its body so that its markings stood out as clearly as possible when it was afraid - making it look more like a poisonous snake might look.  When we observed it quietly and calmly it went back to looking like a regular striped garden snake.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Work days this week

I plan to be working in the garden from 1 to 3 on Thursday 2/17 and 1:30 to 3:00 on Friday 2/18.  The weather promises to be good.  I hope to plant more peas and work on prepping another bed.  If you plan to come, be sure to check for the blog for updates the morning of just in case I have to change plans.  Hope to see you there.

Snurgelly hoses

Therisa and I planted turnips, carrots and scallions on Friday and then spent the rest of our time cleaning up the huge pile of snurgelly hoses that had taken over most of the floor space in the shed.  I am happy to report that the useless ones have been disposed of and the good ones are now coiled neatly and have found a new home - not underfoot.
Oh - If you aren't sure what a snurgelly hose is, read The Lorax by Dr. Suess.  It is a most excellent read!

Digging Trenches

Last Wednesday (2/9) the third graders got busy and worked on digging the trench around the fence line that Bradley has been working on all winter.

The end is in sight.  The post you can see next to Ms. Ritz is our final destination.

Tomorrow we hope to put up our scarecrows!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Thursday Feb. 10 work day

I plan to be out at the farm today from 1 to 3 weeding and side dressing the raspberries.  If the ground is still frozen, I'll be cleaning the shed which has become almost frightening in its capacity for messiness.  Come join me if you can!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Update on the mystery flower

Last week I posted this photo of a flower that I did not know the name of:


Vivian Parks emailed me with the name of the flower and a little more information as well.  Thank you Vivian!


re. the lovely photo of the plant you couldn't identify, I thought you might like to know that it's a Chimonanthus praecox - common name, Winter Sweet....and the only reason I know that is because it's one of my favorite flowers!  If you want to propagate it, spring layering works better than summer cuttings, although it can take many months for roots to form.  Also, a neat trick is to grow Clematis up them so that they have flowers later in the season.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Cilantro and Kale

I spent about 45 minutes in the garden today.  I'm always amazed at how warm it is there in the sunshine once you start working.  It was a leaf day so I planted 4 rows of cilantro in one of the beds and a flat of kale in the greenhouse.  You can see the end of the bed where the cilantro went in below.



I also spent some time weeding the sorrel bed.  Winter weeding is so nice.  You feel like what you are doing will actually stay done for a while.  The beds are so much easier to weed this year than they have been in years past as well.  Dare I say I think we've just about got the mugwort beat?  I saw a few sprouts mixed in with the sorrel and found a few long roots, but nothing like the amazing tangle of cords that we used to find when trying to rid the beds of mugwort.

Update to Tuesday 2/8 work day

I'll be there from 2 to 3 today.  Hope to see you there!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Work day on Tuesday?

Since the weather is looking glorious for the early part of the week and not so hot for later on.  I'm planning to be in the garden on Tuesday, Feb. 8 from 1 to 3 planting cilantro and prepping another bed if the ground isn't too wet. Come join me if you can.  I'll still plan to be there Thursday and Friday as well as long as the temp is above 40 degrees and it isn't raining.  Just keep watching the weather!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Change in workday start time Feb. 3

I won't be able to make it to the garden before 2:00 today.  Hope to see you there.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Scarecrows, turnips and carrots

It was a warm and breezy day today.  Just the right temperature for steady work and beautiful.  At one point a group of 3rd graders looked up into all the pine trees that ring our section of the farm and took a few minutes to really drink in the sight of them waving their green feathery branches over our meeting area and the pasture.

We continued to work on the scarecrows which are now ready to go into the ground.  We've even started digging holes for the posts using garden trowels and determination.  It's amazing what a 3rd grader can do when they set their minds to it.

We also planted turnips and carrots with hopes that the coming frosts will not be too heavy for them.  We are planning succession plantings so even if this batch doesn't make it, there will be others planted later.

Unfortunately I forgot to bring out the camera until after everyone had left so there are no pictures other than the one below of Elvis.  Elvis lives in the pasture next to our garden and often oversees the garden work along with his buddy Finnigan.


Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Upcoming Work Days

Thursday February 3rd I plan to work from 1 to 3 assuming it isn't raining.  We'll finish prepping C1 and start on C2 if the soil is dry enough to work with.  If 3rd grade was unable to plant carrots and turnips on Wednesday, we'll do that as well.  If there is still time left over, we'll work on the fence line trench.

Friday, February 4 looks like it will be a rainy day.  If it is not raining and the soil is workable, I'll be there from 1 to 3 finishing up the weeding work in the two flower beds and prepping the far end of the right bed for herbal and native species donated by Whitted Bowers Farm.

As always, please check the blog for any last minute changes before you come out.  Hope to see you there!!