Straw bale garden

This year the plan is to expand the garden. The soil here is beach sand and rocks... Lots of rocks. I have made stone walls everywhere with all the rocks that have been dug up.

We read about planting a garden in a hay bale and decided to give it a try.

We had 30 bales delivered and set them out. Thbe open spaces have been filled with composted chicken hay( hay form the chicken yard) and will be topped off with compost. Here we will plant root crops. Carrots, parsnips and beets

In the tires we will plant pumpkins and squash. Potatoes and onions will go in the beds of the old garden

We are now in the process of conditioning the bales.  Keep them very wet, and fertilized.

I am using Garden Tone  fertilizer, which is organic.

 Once the bales are conditioned, and it is warm enough to plant, we should have a good garden.

Is it spring yet??

Although the calendar says spring, and mother nature teased us with a few days in the 50s way back at the begining of the month. It has been in the 20s at night,and barely getting into the 40s during the day.

 After such a long snowy winter,I crave something green,something alive.

 I bring the outside in. Forcing narcissus bulbd and azalea branches.

 Patiently waiting for springs first blooms.

backyard chicken flock

We got 10 eggs today from our little backyard flock. That's not a bad take from 12 chickens. We got our chickens  a couple years ago, and will be supplimenting them soon with 4 more in the next few weekThere aren't many more things in life that are more satisfiying than a backyard flock of chickens.
They will eat most anything,so we don't have much food that we throw out. It's fun to watch them scratch for hidden treasures about the yard(ie bugs,grubs,and worms). And they reward us with the most beautiful, delicious,fabulous eggs.....

What's better than that??

Seeds

Is there a 12 step program for people who collect seeds???? I may need one.Even though I have quite a collection, I still find myself perusing catalogues and internet sights looking at plants and thinking Oh, I really need that.

I have started several sets of seeds in the basement. Chris has set up a great grow trable in front of the windows. There is plenty of natural light, but we have added grow lights and heat mats to give the little seeds a boost.

Some things have been started in peat pellets and some in containers that prepaired salads come in. I have saved these from my lunch from work.

I also found a pot maker from Burpee.  This handy dandy little thing makes little pots out of newspaper. We save our Metros everyday( as well as scooping up extas at the end of the day) They are probably not organic but they are free.Just cut the paper into 3in strips, roll around the pot maker, fold up and tamp the bottom, and Voila little pots! I amazes me that all you have to do is put these little seeds in the ground and up grows food.  So far everything I have planted has come up. I have had a few near misses. The eggplant that I started got a little too dry. I came home from work and the poor little things were laying flat on the dirt. Thank goodnes that a little water revived them and they are growing like gangbusters now.