Just wanted to pop in to keep you all afoot of what has been going on at the micro-farm! Spring is in full gear and we are planting, nurturing, raising, and developing. We just enjoyed our "weekend" with two days of working around the homestead. (Where we work, we get Tuesdays and Wednesdays off instead of the traditional weekend days.) I spent yesterday weeding and tilling the Fairy Garden and planting the seeds for the wildflower section. How kind of Mother Nature to make it rain today so I didn't have to water it again today. I spent a good bit of the day yesterday tidying up the yard and tilling the beds and I ended up seeding the wildflower beds by moonlight last night. (Seems appropriate, doesn't it?) The green tufts you see to the sides of the pathway are tulips coming up, and the mounds of green in front of the stones near the top of the platform are Blue Hill Salvia. Some irises and maybe some dahlias will be going in around the tulips too, so that there are flowers blooming year round in the Fairy Garden.
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| The dark areas at the sides are where the wildflowers will grow! :) |
Mom and Dad Rumbaugh dropped off some scrap lumber and a big exciting pallet that a shed was delivered on that we'll be putting to good use. I'm thinking it'll be the base for a potting shed or something... the possibilities are endless! They also dropped off the final bit of lumber we need to build the foundation for our tractor and tool shed. Hopefully the weather will cooperate soon so we can get it built. We've been storing most of our tools either in the laundry room or cellar, neither of which are convenient places for the growing number of tools and gardening supplies we need to make our homestead run smoothly.
Nate spent the last two days prepping for the bees which will be arriving tomorrow. He got his beekeeping supplies yesterday and tried out his helmet and veil with much delight. My veil was ordered last-minute as we sort of overlooked me needing one to take videos and pics to share with you. Amazon says it will be here tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed!! He also built a divider for the hive so that we can keep the hive a manageable size for the bees until they get their comb established. Just tonight while I had dinner cooking, he also made a feeder that will provide the bees with enough sugar-solution so that they can get started building comb in their hive and not have to worry much about foraging until they can get established. I have to admit, it is a pretty clever little device and I'm not as annoyed as I thought I'd be with the fact that he used his drill and dremel in the kitchen to assemble it. (Hey, at least he went outside to do the bit with the circular saw!)
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| Nate in his new beekeeping helmet and veil next to his hive. |
I also took a spin around the garden to check on the beds we seeded in the last few weeks. We have strawberries coming up, peas growing strong, lettuces sprouting, and garlic poking up. The blueberry bushes are flush with leaves and the buds are opening, so we are very hopeful that we'll get to taste our first homegrown blueberries this year! We have seedlings of all sorts poking up in the craft room inside too - lots of plants that are too tender to be outside yet, but by starting them indoors, we're getting a jump on the season. We've got kale, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, spinach, tomatillos, pumpkins, and summer squash all starting to sprout. In addition, this week we'll be starting tigger melons, sprite melons, moon and stars watermelons, and passion fruit vines indoors. I just LOVE this time of year!! You can just feel the energy of everything sprouting, growing, and blooming. The world is full of potential and wonder! :)
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| Pea sprouts! We had an awesome pea harvest last year and we look forward to another this year. |
Happy Planting!
Sarah
PS: Stay tuned tomorrow for the videos of our honeybee homecoming! Buzz buzz!!
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