As a new growing season begins, I find myself digging into new soil. Every morning when I wake up and look around, I am happy to be living in the middle of a farm. Granted, I’m not on a farm of my own anymore, but it feels good to get my boots muddy, my fingernails dirty, and create something with the sweat of my brow. Evenings, early mornings, and snippets of stolen time in my busy days have been spent planting, weeding, mulching, cleaning up and setting up my new homesteading endeavors. I am also enjoying watching the work the farmers are doing here on this land as it progresses. It’s a view into the day-to-day of an organic farm I have never had the opportunity to observe, and it puts the planting of my own peas and potatoes into a whole different perspective of scale.
One of the most exciting parts of living on this 20-acre organic farm, is that I was turned loose with my own garden area, greenhouse to use, and materials for a chicken coop and run. I found a free chicken coop on a local permaculture list, and was given an old, funky greenhouse to turn into the frame for a chicken run. I was just thinking how it couldn’t get any easier, when a windstorm came along the next day and blew the greenhouse across the garden and up against the side of the carport under my house!
Between the farmer, a good strong friend, and myself, we managed to cut the bent bottom poles off and move it back into place. We took off the plastic covering too, lest it should get windy again. I saved the plastic to cover a small portion for a rain shelter, and collected abundant amounts of free fencing and chicken wire from a friend taking a break from chicken keeping. It’s coming along slowly, but I hope to move some of my old flock over here with me soon.
I got a raised bed put in the greenhouse and planted several varieties of greens, including wild arugula, mustard and various lettuces. In the coming weeks I will be starting my seeds for the garden. It’s pretty much my dream greenhouse, so I’m very pleased with the whole situation.
I got my quail coop moved over and set in place, along with the chicken run from my friend who gave me all the wire and fencing. I am planning on having plenty of fresh, delicious quail eggs soon.
I transplanted starts from the herbs in my old garden, and put them in various beds and places around my house. Mint, sweet woodruff, lemon balm, calendula, rosemary, lavender, and wild oxeye daisy were just a few, along with some flowers like lamb’s ear and wandflower.
My wildcrafted nettle rhizomes are coming up and doing quite well. I expect to have a nice nettle patch for teas and soups by early summer.
All around my house, the fruit trees are coming into flower and it is a beautiful sight to behold. I keep imagining all the fruit laden branches I’m going to look around at in the Fall.
The kids and I have also been enjoying all the wildlife stopping by to visit. This deer often beds down by the gooseberry bushes and I see her getting up in the early morning to head off and graze on soft orchard grass. A nutria frequently wanders around the meadow below the kitchen window, and the birds are everywhere singing their songs, including the low honking tones of Canada geese drifting my way from the pond. Not too bad for living a stone’s throw from town.
Looking around me, I know I have transplanted myself to a good location. The more I dig in and stain my pants and fingernails with this soil, the more I feel like I have a place to tend and pour my hard work and heart into. And until the day comes along again that I have a homestead to call my own, this will do just fine.
Lara, Just found your blog today. You have a real connection to the earth and capture it beautifully through your photos. I found you through a search on self seeding greens. I have large area of my garden dedicated to mustard , kale, collard and turnip greens. They are in full bloom with bright yellow flowers now to which the locals honey bees are enjoying very much. We did little thinning of the plants . So they are large and numerous. I wondered if you could tell me when is the best time to remove these plants so the new plants will have room to grow? When that time comes, would you cut back or pull plants out of the ground?
Thank you.
Littleriver
Hi Littleriver, it's good to hear from a fellow lover of greens! Once mustards and other greens go to seed and the pods and flowering parts are dried out, you can pull the plant up and shake them out all around to make sure all the seeds fall out. They're so prolific, I wouldn't worry about disturbing the soil and seedbed around them by pulling up old plants. Happy gardening!
Sounds wonderful! ღ