Spring Has Sprung

These little guys and gals arrived last week.  Our plan is to herd them into areas of the flower fields that need some bug control.  Unlike chickens they do not scratch so they will not be destructive to the plants (mature plants) and are herd-able.  Have you ever tried to herd chickens into an area?......nigh unto impossible.

They are Ancona ducks and are really good egg layers provided you give them lots of oyster shell and everything they need for good nutrition.  (Yes, we are going to eat these eggs.)    I ordered them from Cackle Hatchery in Lebanon, MO via the internet. 

My basement was bursting with little seedlings and I had to turn on the greenhouse and move some out.  Here you are looking at Caledula and Agrostemma..  The main thing about greenhouses and starting plants early is not so much daytime temperatures.  It's always the nighttime temps. you are battling.  You have to keep that greenhouse from freezing and killing your plants.  I would love to keep it at 55 degrees at night  for optimal growing speed but I do tend to cheap out and run it at around 45 - 50 degrees.  But ultimately just keep it from freezing at night.  You could easily use a cold frame uncovered in the day and covered in a warm blanket at night. 

Godetia seedlings.

Spring Cleaning....

 

BEFORE



It's time to get ugly and get going.  Spring in North Idaho is unpredictable at best and still winter at worst.  I personally only like working outside in beautiful weather but farming for some level of profit has changed all that.  Sometimes you have to get out there even when the harsh, cold weather beats down on you and threatens to blow you away.  How do you combat this?.....Well I have that figured out and it requires getting pretty ugly.  I have learned that as long as I am warm, I am good to go for a long time. So when I get ready to go outside I am layered to the MAX.  (This involves cover-alls or snow pants if needed.)  And the most important garment.....A STOCKING CAP!!  I tell you, it makes all the difference in to world.  My good friend, Tanya McCoy (God rest her soul), and I had this hat discussion one day while lamenting this windy area we had moved too.  I laugh to this day when I remember driving by and seeing her out working away in that stocking cap.....and that is exactly how you will see me out working on this farm....and I am very comfortable.



AFTER
Bill (husband) built this Lean-To for me last fall.  I needed a place to store all of the equipment I use in the field because it was taking over his shop.  He put this together in no time and with very little expense.  A church was reroofing its building and Bill agreed to do the work of removing the metal sheeting in trade for getting to keep it, a good deal for both parties. The big posts were taken from our firewood pile, and our neighbor (Sean McCoy) dropped off the old carpet you see laying on the ground.  The old carpet is a great idea it helps to keep the dust down and is easy to sweep out.



This is the back of the shed.  I really like the brown color of the metal sheeting because it blends into the farm rather than being a stark contrast. 

Last year, by the time Easter had come, we only had 3 nice days for the entire year up to that point.  Sometimes you can't wait for nice spring weather, it may not come in time. (By the time the middle of April gets here we are busy in the fields and there is no more time for Spring Cleaning and preparing.)  So, my advice?......get ugly and get going!  Once you get out there it feels great and one thing done is more than no thing done.