Spring is finally coming to Farm & Wilderness! At first glance, it may not look like it since our fields are still covered in snowpack and the reservoir is completely solid but to us, on the farm, it’s clear that we are rounding the corner towards summer. The mountainsides are starting to get that hue of red as buds begin to swell and sap has been flowing well in our maple lines. Greenhouses are starting to fill up with seedlings and the smell of soil from all those microbes getting back to work. The chickens are busy in their nesting boxes and around the farm scratching up new patches of soil and babies are born almost every day in the barn.
As everything around us wakes up so must the farm crew. Orchards are being pruned to help increase airflow in the tree canopy during the summer and to slow down growth so our trees can focus more of its energy on making fruit. This is done during the cold months while the trees and their diseases are dormant so the wounds can dry faster and heal. If you have adequate protection from the elements, this is a great time to start spring greens like spinach, lettuce, beets, peas, arugula, radishes and anything else in the mustard family. Right now in the hoop house under a layer of Reemay row cover, we have lots of these greens sprouting and the first crop of radishes almost ready to pull. Our glass house is getting busy with transplants that will be planted outside in the garden when the danger of frost is over.
The barns are also filling up with babies and moms are doing a great job with all the hard work of delivering and rearing. Matilda the pig did a great job with her first litter of 6 piglets and we have 8 new goat kids hopping up on anything and everything they come across. Spring is our season of optimism and spirits are high on the farm.