Too relaxed??

I have this feeling that I am way too relaxed so far this season. I usually have several panic attack moments as I realize that I"m behind on planting, the weeds are over taking the plants, not enough moisture, too much moisture, too windy, too buggy, transplants are too small or the transplants are too big, oh i could go on and on. But this year for some reason I'm just taking one day at a time and working with what nature throws at me and not freaking out if I planned to plant lettuce mix and the weather said it was supposed to be fine and it turns out that it rained all day. Derek has taken the last few Friday's off which has helped immensely and our neighbor John has been working with us here and there and that has also been super.

Derek and John planting potatoes, I am hardly able to bend so I just dropped the sets on the top of the hill and the guys did the rest.

Last Monday the Summerside Katimavik group came to the farm for the day and helped to tackle the weedy strawberry patch and they also helped to plant several trays of greens and broccoli that were really needing to get planted. That was awesome!!!

The Summerside Katimavik Work Team!!! Life savers!!!
So maybe that is why I am feeling so relaxed, help really is a wonderful thing.

Now if only I could feel as ready about having these babies as I do about the status of the planting. A friend asked me lately if I was ready for the twins arrival. Well, I thought to myself, I have two cribs, two car seats, a bath tub, little sleepers, diapers and a whole lot of other stuff that I'm not even sure what to do with. Of course I'm ready I thought, then I actually started to think about it and mentally I am really not quite in the baby zone. I've been so focused on getting seedlings in the ground and plans made for the summer for Derek and John to take over that I haven't left much time for thinking about the realities of bringing home two babies and what that will look like. But, for now I"m happy to live in the world of denial and keep focusing on the farm.

Action Shots

Good old tiller




My workhorse!!!

Another windy day today but it was warm and the soil dried up nicely. I could not get the rototiller to work so I had to wait for Derek to get home. Of course he just pulled the cord and it started, I blame it on the babies. Don't want to pull too hard of course. I always had a hard time getting it started so I really should not use them as an excuse. We got another 6 beds planted this evening after supper. Speaking of supper it was really yummy. Salad and hamburgers. Ground beef mixed with ground pork both from farmers at the Summerside Market. But I digress. Back to the planting. We planted two beds of parsnips, a bed of dill and cilantro, and three beds of beets. Tomorrow we are going to finish planting the potatoes and start transplanting leeks, onions and Brassica greens. I'm excited!!! Yippie for progress. Here are a few action shots from my work this evening.


Off I go with the tiller to work up some soil



Notice all the safety gear, ear protectors and steel toed boots

Public Speaking = Scarry

Last night I spoke about our CSA farm at the farm centre in Charlottetown. I had all kinds of time to prepare and of course I left it to the last minute. Well not the last minute exactly but I did find myself in front of the computer all day yesterday making a slide presentation and trying to remember back to college days for proper words/page and proper fonts etc. I'm just glad its over!!! But it went really well. There was around 20 people there and lots of questions were asked. Becky Townsend from Fortune Organics also spoke about her CSA farm which was really interesting.

Public speaking = scarry!!

More Progress

Lettuce mix seeds in the hopper ready to be direct seeded


Green onion transplants, almost ready to be planted, notice the big belly in the way


Organic compost finally arrives


Healthy broccoli transplant

The last two weeks have been quite good in terms of planting seeds and getting things done. Our compost we purchased arrived last Wednesday evening from New Brunswick and Derek spent the next few evenings spreading it with our tiny manure spreader and on Friday he was able to work it all in and the ground is now ready for planting!!! All I have to do now is use the rototiller to make finished beds before I plant. All the beds have been made.


Beds all made, now ready to be planted

Last week I seeded 5 beds of carrots, 5 beds of peas, 1 bed of radish, 1 bed of spinach, 1 bed of lettuce mix and Derek and I planted 12 rows of potatoes after the market on Saturday.


Early carrot variety, Nelson
There are still 18 rows of potatoes left to put in but its been raining steady since Sunday afternoon so it looks like the end of the week will be when we're able to get back at the planting. Our early varieties, Red Norland and Superiors, have been planted now to get the Kennebeck, Penta and Gold Rush in.

Potato sets ready to be planted, Red Norland

When the soil dries up I will be transplanting turnip, broccoli, leeks, bulb onions, mizuna, swiss chard, kale and green onions.


Mixture of seedlings reaching for the sun


All of the tomatoes have been potted on now to either a 3" pot or a tray size of 36 cells or 50 cells. I started tomatoes a lot later this year and I'm afraid they are pretty small and it may not have been a very good decision. Time will tell. I put the transplants out in the shed a lot earlier this year and I think some benefited and some not so much. The peppers are quite on the small side this year but the Asian greens and Brassicas look really healthy.



Soon to be transplanted, when the soil finally dries up

Small Farm Canada

Today in the mail arrived Small Farm Canada Magazine. Its a great little magazine that focuses on small farm related issues throughout Canada. I had been contacted last fall about doing an interview in regards to our CSA program. It seems I've finally made it into the magazine, the biggest surprise was my picture being included on the front page. The online article is a little bit different but have a read if you've got a few minutes. The article talks about operating a CSA from four different Canada farmer perspectives. Happy Reading!!
http://www.smallfarmcanada.ca/csa.html

Progress

Jen & Whitey


New strawberry growth


Greenhouse work


Campbell brothers all working together, thanks guys!!!


Getting ready to plant the first bed!! Spinach & Lettuce mix



And the first bed is planted.

Well the first day of May has arrived. Its chilly and damp but a little bit of rain will be good to give all my newly planted seeds a drink. The greenhouse is still under construction but its coming along. We got some manure delivered yesterday which will be spread on the hay field and our compost from New Brunswick should be coming any day now. I was able to plant three beds so far 1.5 spinach and 1.5 lettuce mix. The seedlings are growing well and the shed is pretty much full. I have another full round of seeding to do on Monday and I'm not sure where I'll find the space.



Onions growing well in the shed


Truck almost empty


Pure Gold - Cattle manure


A proud farmer girl overlooking the new manure pile


Derek and I posing in front of new manure pile

My big belly is also progressing along quite well. Getting very hard to bend over and it sure was awkward trying to get up into the tractor yesterday. I'll need a step stool soon.


Belly shot 29 weeks. Two babies sure take up a lot of room!!

Last blast of winter?

We had a real kicker of a snow storm Monday & Tuesday. We got over 20cm and the wind blew it all around and I think most of it ended up behind our house in the form of a 6 foot snow drift which Derek had to shovel to be able to feed the horses and get firewood from the shed. By late afternoon yesterday the sun was shining and you would never have known that we had gotten hammered again by yet another winter storm. Will this be the last? The long range weather forecast is predicting warm weather with rain so that should help to bring the drift and all the other piles of snow down. Just on Sunday, one day before the snow, we were barbecuing and sitting outside enjoying the spring weather. It did not last for long.

The onions are growing really well. Overall the germination rate was pretty good and i'm happy with their growth so far. I've yet to plant anything else but hopefully I will get some peppers, parsley, shallots and other fine seeds started today.

The twins are growing well according to my doctor. We got to see them on the ultrasound last week and all looked good. 25 weeks down, and who knows how many more. She said the average term for twins was between 34-38 weeks so here's hoping for the 38 week mark!!!