Good Morning to you!  Iris, Hazel and I have found a tried and true method for ridding the farm of burdock seed balls--roll around on the ground with each other, enjoying the sunshine.   The seeds really stick in Hazel's longer fur, and my fleece jacket is covered in them.  Arrgghh!  We're having a great time despite being covered in this stuff. 
    The 55-65 degree weather has been spoiling us, finding us burning brush from the orchard prunings, pulling out the old fence and digging out burdock plants and noxious weeds.  The farm is shaping up nicely!  Sunday found my sister, niece, and nephew working with me to make a new bed to sow greens.  We also covered our low tunnel greenhouses with salvaged plastic.  This hard work allowed me to sow chard, spinach, arugula, radishes, mesclun, and assorted lettuces on Monday.  Yesterday I made two more beds, double digging them to get out all the perennial weed roots.  I'm excited to transplant some herbs into this area.  First in these new beds will be bronze fennel, chives, and thyme.  Peas will be going in today too!
    The key to organic agriculture is crop rotation combined with cover crop integration.  These techniques help a farmer keep ideas fresh, always changing the position of crops in the field.  The winter rye that I sowed last year is growing fast with this week's warm weather.   I had also sown oats, which did a good job of shading out weeds last year.  It has died down and is now a thin mat covering the soil nicely.  We have an entrenched weed bank, giving us a challenge for years to come.  I'd like to start using a scythe this year to control weeds on the edge of the garden.  I'll keep you posted on my progress.
    Last but not least:  All our bee colonies have made it through the winter!  Joe and I were so excited to open the lids, finding little ladies busily going about their duties in all the hives.   Today I'll be visiting with two of my beekeeping friends, helping them manipulate their hives.  They are masters who have taken me under their wings.  I look forward to being their understudy for years to come! 

 

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