Livestock and Garden Report~ Round 2: week 2.5

first thing this week the girls and i headed down to the lower garden to plant potatoes. i feel as if I'm in a potato race, since i want to have potatoes to sell before the 4th of July. hence the rush.

Dave put the middle buster on the tiller for me, and i made several furrows. (48" apart)


it was still early for local seed potatoes, so i used some of my red Pontiac and kennebec from last year. the girls helped me put the potatoes in the furrow.

this week I'll be planting more potatoes: yukon gold, more red Pontiac, Superior and the blue ones. (still elusive, but getting closer to actually tracking them down!)




on Monday, Dave came home with a late Easter present for the girls:



a tiny wheelbarrow!




they both had fun helping to put it together, and even managed to NOT loose any of the nuts or screws!

they both promptly got to work hauling around stones and other random things.

bright and early on Wednesday morning we got a call from the US Government. (actually, it was really the Towanda postmaster)

our 100 Cornish cross cockerels were in, and i needed to come pick them up. i went to the back door of the post office and rang the bell. after giving him the secret password, he handed over my happy meal box of chickens. the brooder box was already prepared, and after a quick stop at the feed mill, i brought the chicks home and got them all settled in their new brooder box.

so far all is well; and I'm loving the new brooder box. although it takes up most of the mud room, I like how easy it is to take care of the chicks.

both girls often stop in and visit with the peeps. B asked me "when they get bigger, are we going to eat them?"

why yes, yes we are!

she's a true country girl at heart, and makes her daddy proud!

in many (and random) places, we have catnip growing. spooky sure is enjoying it! i plan on potting some of it up to sell in the produce stand this week. (the catnip, not the cat!)

several of the raised beds are planted, and the peas are making a timid showing. i had to water daily this week, as we didn't get rain until Friday night. the girls, of course, are glad to help.

Dave bought 50 black raspberry bushes, and had diligently (and fervently) worked to prepare their bed. we got them planted on Friday morning.

and wouldn'tchaknow, the hose is almost long enough to reach the raspberry bushes. all but the last 4, that is!

the peach trees in the orchard are blooming, and the plum will not be far behind. unfortunately, neither the cherries nor apples made it through the winter, so I'll be making a call about that this week.

Dave also ordered grapes, so it looks like we'll be having some fruit to add to our veggie sales some day!

the next priority was planting the 2 flats of broccoli and cauliflower. after laying the black plastic, Dave and i planted the 144 brassicas in an evening.

using the idea we found here, we modified it a bit and made row covers for both rows. (finishing this project is a priority for the beginning of this week) G helped cut the re-bar and the PVC. he also helped haul off the 3 wheelbarrow loads of rocks we collected.

interestingly enough, i had never even heard of the word agrarian until we discovered Herrick's blog!

and lastly, as Dave pointed out, even the migrant workers get a break! A and B are always happy (and ready) to help daddy eat his tasty cakes!