It’s raining, or should I say slushing. Whatever is falling from the sky is wet and thick and turns to slush once it hits the ground. I can smell Spring in the air, but mother nature decided that more snow should come our way first.
So what’s a girl to do with this kind of weather? I have started packing the house for the big move. But on this day, I want to plan. In my mind, I am walking between the rows of newly planted trees and shrubs. My feet are enjoying the feel of the rich soil and my nose is revelling in the scents of herbs and blooming flowers.
Back to reality. I know this first season will be filled with cleaning, clearing and prepping the farm for animals and plantings. But still, a girl can dream and plan and dream…
Being new at this, reading and studying my gardening options has been my main focus. I have particularly enjoyed The Market Gardener by Jean-Martin Fortier.https://www.amazon.ca/Market-Gardener-Successful-Handbook-Small-scale-ebook/dp/B00I2FYZJC/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1
This book is a fount of information, especially for my climate. They are located in Québec and deal with the extremes of our four seasons. And they are successful. Lots to learn from them.
The plan now is to start mapping where and when things will happen. Right after we move, we will get chickens. Not sure yet if we will get fertilized eggs or hatchlings. Getting fertilized eggs means purchasing an incubator. Will let you know what we decide. The chicks, once born, will stay in the house with us for a few weeks which will give us time to get a barn stall ready for them. By summer they will be fine to roam outside in a fenced pasture.
We are all geared to clean and prep the barn space for the animals. The original plan was to wait until fall to get goats, but if we find the right ones they may arrive sooner. That’s another stall that will need to be prepped and ready. That means finding a good source for hay and feed.
Then I need to start acquiring fruit trees for the future orchard. If I don’t plant a few this year, it will take too long to start reaping their harvest. As for garden beds, I hope to delineate the areas that will be worked first and get them started for proper planting next year. I will have a small garden this year but since I don’t know the quality of the earth yet, I am not anticipating a great bounty quite yet.
I will be trying to take a sample of the ground (if it’s still not too frozen) on my next visit. We get to see the property one more time before closing. I’ll try to schedule that closer to the end of March so that a bit of ground might be thawed.
Still another project to think about is the irrigation on the property. Since we are on well water, I don’t want to stress our home supply by taxing the well too much. So watering the gardens will have to come from a different source. I am hoping that springtime will show us where the water sits in the fields. This might indicate high ground level water that could be turned into a pond. In turn, the pond could be used to irrigate the gardens.
My head is full of these happy thoughts. I hope you are busy planning your spring projects.
Unruffled Farms 