Bare Mtn Farm

Quotable Sunday 03/17/2013

Just Working...

Another week as gone by and they seem to be going by at a very rapid rate.  We are just a few days away from the first day of spring and although we are working hard, it feels like we are running behind. Probably just because there are SO many things that need to be done.  Here is a little review of this weeks activities.

                          Finally remembering to plant veggies in amongst on the flower seed planting.

Our diet has changed to a very low carb diet full of tons of veggies.  So every few weeks I need to sow some veggie seeds.  Here are some soil blocks of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, bunching onions and shallots.  Did you know that cauliflower is an excellent stand in for rice, mash potatoes and makes a great cheesy waffle. We have started a couple of tomatoes to put in a hoop house for some early tomatoes.

Our lawn mower is finally back from a major repair, it has been gone for a month.  Works great now and will be put to the test mowing grass that looks like a hay field.  It is also needed to move our buckets of flowers up to the cooler.

 

Tulips and the Stock are growing nicely in the hoop house.

Frost blankets are left in for a few more weeks.  Last year this week we had a major snow event and we are little nervous for this year's weather.

Some of our dahlias have been pre-sprouted.  We tried them in a crate in our home next to our warm pellet stove and they seem to have done pretty well.  It was just a little test to see if this would work.

Planted 2000 tulips for sale around Mother's Day.  They are wonderful spring colors like these tulips from last year.

Besides all the seeding, planting and soil prepping this week, there is another job that always needs to be done somewhere here.  That's weeding.

We have seven boxes toward the front of the property where it is pretty shady in the summer but will grow daffodils, alliums and other spring bulbs.  This is our sort of test garden for daffodils.  Daffodils grow all over in the fields around here sort of wild.  They are the King Alfred variety, your standard big yellow daffodil.  We have been trying out the smaller, more dainty, fragrant varieties, to see if folks are interested in them.  Only a few hundred of each type until we go big.  Well, the boxes needed to be weeded.  Not our favorite sport, but the day was nice, the soil was warm and the spring bulbs needed to be saved from the weeds.

Farmer Tony and I worked on it for about an hour with our favorite tools.

I then spent the next couple of hours completing the job, rocking out to tunes on my ipod and enjoying the a nice spring day.  Sort of  back to nature type of experience.  

Clean boxes, happy daffodils that need to be picked and a sore back and legs. Oh well, such is life of a flower farmer. Here's a photos of some of daffodils in the boxes from last year.

Today is St. Patrick's Day and while everyone claims to be Irish today, we both have great grandparents who came from Ireland, so here is more of an Irish blessing than a quote.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

May luck be our companion
May friends stand by our side
May history remind us all
Of Ireland's faith and pride.
May God bless us with happiness
May love and faith abide.
~Irish Blessing