Weekly round-up

Just a few quick notes about farm activities this week . . .

The fields finally dried up and we've been composting beds, transplanting and seeding. It's always a huge relief once we can start getting things into the ground. We're slightly later this year than we were last year, but there are so many factors that influence how fast things will grow.

Now we'll wait and see how long it'll be before we have to start irrigating. After the winter rains it doesn't take much time before things dry up sufficiently to require regular watering.

We cleaned out the chicken coop today to make sure it has a chance to be washed and aired out before the next flock arrives in May. Cleaning the coop is never first on anyone's list, but it's never as bad as we expect. It stinks, but it went relatively quickly.

Some of the other tasks for this time of year include making sure we have all of the supplies we need before the season starts getting busier. Yesterday I picked up some of the floating row cover we'll use on carrots this season. The cover prevents the carrots rust fly from doing damage to the carrots that would otherwise make them unmarketable.

We're also getting ready for farmers markets. This means organizing supplies, making sure signs are ready and lining up helpers for each market. Not many days left until the first market -- hope the rhubarb grows so that we have something to sell!

Two apprentices arrive on 1 May, so there are preparations to do to make sure their living spaces are ready and that we're organized enough to have work lined up (there is work, we just have to be prepared to do it).

Milking the goats is going well. The three goats that we're milking have been nervous on the milk stand and upset about being separated from their babies at night. But they're gettting into a routine. Rob started playing meditation music for them the past two mornings. They've increased their collective milk output from 1/2 gallon a day to between 3/4 and a full gallon this week. We now have a batch of feta aging in the fridge and an attempt at chevre on the go, not to mention a few batches of yogurt finished.

So, that's a summary for the week. Lots coming up and I'll try to keep the blog up to date.