Spring Update

The weather is still being a bit unpredictable, so the mason bees will be on hold until next week, but the honey bees have been taking advantage of the rain-free days and the fruit tree blossoms, and are building comb and raising brood. A quick check yesterday showed more brood and a lot of capped cells that should be increasing the colony soon. Hopefully the rain that is on the way won't knock too many blossoms off of the trees, so there will still be time for more pollination to occur.

This is one of our two dwarf Ranier cherry trees, which didn't provide any cherries last year....in fact we picked ONE cherry off our Bing tree *sigh.*

We've been busy ourselves, whittling away at the piles of mulch and topsoil we had delivered and dumped on our driveway. The beds are shaping up and being planted, and I have been weeding, transplanting, mulching and seeding to limit the invasion of quack grass and other garden annoyances in the perimeter beds. The tomato seedlings need to be thinned, and the cucumbers, squash and a few other seeds needing indoor attention are sitting ready to go into newly-prepared flats. I will be using some of the outside space to start cole and herb crops, which will be moved to more permanent positions once we need the current space for beans, corn, and other, slightly later
crops.

 

Mulch in front, soil in back with a cover for possible rain.....who am I kidding? We live in the Pacific Northwest!

 



Some of that soil, topping off newly prepared beds.

The garlic, shallots and Jerusalem artichoke are looking lovely, and we've enjoyed a few spears of asparagus - though we never get 'enough.' (Above you see the early start of Jerusalem artichoke in the far bed, and two beds of garlic - 180 cloves this year, planted last October and mulched with rabbit manure and soiled straw from the chickens.)

Seeding today: turnip, beet, radish, kohlrabi, fennel, kale, swiss chard, spinach, collards, and some herbs and flowers to fill in the empty spots: bread seed poppy, thyme, dill, bronze fennel, marigold, nasturtium and calendula. Hopefully the next few days of patchy rain will get those seeds settled and I'll be growing something we *want* to see, rather than pulling weeds.

The bunnies are growing, and have now learned how to get in and out of their nesting boxes so they can annoy their mothers even more. We're letting them have some greens, but only in limited quantities - they're just about the right size to reach the alfalfa pellets in the feeder, and are nibbling on smaller pieces of hay and dry orchard grass for now. Too many greens can lead to digestion 'issues,' but we've found that the greens are welcome, and it's just adorable to watch blades of rye grass disappear into a munching bunny mouth. Their mothers eat the majority of what's offered, as quickly as they can.

The chickens are enjoying the warmer weather - they used to huddle under the picnic table in the cold rain, despite having a hay-filled, dry hoop house they could have enjoyed. Celine has gone broody, and I've been taking her outside every morning to the grass, and providing some scratch, before she returns to her spot in the nesting box. I wish I had some fertile eggs to give her!

Celine, Nugget, and Pilgrim, eating breakfast amongst the cherry blossom petals.