Unexpected Snow

Today it rained. Just a steady cool rain which softened the last of the deep frost in the soil. The plants were receiving a drink and all in all it was a regular Spring day, until it turned to snow. Here in Nova Scotia I've had to learn to expect odd weather. However, tonight I was staring out my window in disbelief. We were just finishing dinner and I kept saying to myself "It's going to change back, Right?". After 10 minutes I finally woke up to reality.
Up I went to the barn, the seedlings on the open pallets were starting to be covered in snow. I decided my only course of action was to put them in the pallet high rises. I started racing back and forth moving the 38 seed trays into the shelter. Up and down ladders, pushing them in as far away from the weather as possible. My fingers were numb, cut open from the sharp plastic and starting to bleed by the end of it. I could barely see anything due to the snow on my eyelashes. With a heavy heart I just stared at my seedlings and hoped for the best. Hopefully the night time low would stay around 0 degrees Celsius. I checked the greenhouse and it was only 2 degrees. At least those plants are more protected from the elements.
Inside the barn the chickens were bedding down for the night. My "ornamental's" were drying off and the new chicks on the block even with this weather will be very happy to be let out to roam this Saturday. I topped up their food and water and closed up the barn for the night. Those chickens had done a great job laying 14 eggs today.
As for this weather. A lot of people were complaining about the rain today, even me. I was just wishing for some sun to help my plants grow and for the fields to dry. Now, I'm just praying my plants survive. I wouldn't be the first farmer to have to replant. What a daunting task. I'm telling myself everything will be alright.
I am sure this caught many farmers off guard and I hope they are OK. I'll be at the Farmer's Markets this weekend to help and give encouragement. They and now I, have made it our job to grow safe, nutritious, real food for you to eat. This is something that is not easy, but through support by you we can all be greatly rewarded with health and happiness. Please support your local farmers.

New Chickens!

Tonight Anthony and I went to visit a friend of mine who said he had some chickens for me. 4 Barred Rock layers that needed a new home. I was very happy to take them as I needed some adult chickens to get me through to the fall when my core breed of chicks (arriving next month) should start laying. 

After talking to some breeders and friends, I've now decided to go with the Astrolorp breed of chicken. It's a duel purpose breed, excellent layers and good weights for butchering, calm and winter hardy. A very popular breed for small farms, so why not try it? 

Well, was I ever shocked when we arrived at his farm and he told me he had a surprise for me. 7 extra Astrolorp hens! This is great as it gets my flock up and running way ahead of schedule. Oh my goodness I'm now coming home with 11 hens not just 4 so... some modifications will be needed. I was/am both excited and determined. Never underestimate a woman with a mission!

He had placed them in crates before we arrived so it was an easy load. Wow, those crates were heavy! All the way home, Anthony and I talked about the movie Chicken Run. We are happy we make sure our chickens can always feel the grass beneath their feet. Our chickens are completely free range, frankly everyday they go on expeditions!

We pulled up to the barn and Anthony went to tell the others we got 11 new chickens. It was time to quickly set up some new roosts and additional nesting boxes. When it was time to put them in the coop I made it a three person job. One person to man the crate door, another to man the coop door and me to grab the chickens and place them in the coop.

Now, I must remind you up until now I've been raising the "ornamental" chickens aka Pheonix breed. I bought them last year when there were no others available as we were so late in the season. The Pheonix breed is quite pretty but are small and light.

We put the Barred Rocks in first. OK, these are big birds. The muscles on these things are huge! The four of them were a little antsy and one of them tried an escape attempt but was quickly cornered. Next were the Astrolorps. Now these girls were amazingly docile. They were very relaxed and it was easy to take a hold of them. Lifting them was another story. Goodness gracious I had to brace myself to get each of them out! Some of these girls are nearly 3 times the size of the Pheonix rooster.

I left the light on for them to get comfortable. I will keep them in the coop for a few days until they realise this is their new farm. Due to their mammoth size I will be needing to adjust the roosts tomorrow. This is great!

By the way we stored the crates until I can wash them up and take them back on Tuesday, they are pretty light!

Spring Rush Continues

Spring rush continues here. I now have a new 3 tier pallet shelving unit for the enlarging amounts of seedlings. I will be picking up more pallets this weekend from the Feed Store to build at least 2 more. Until then I've made a chicken/rabbit proof area. 

Before the heavy rain came this morning I moved all of the ones on the open pallets back into the greenhouse. With the low coming tonight I also placed plastic over the front of the pallet tier. Wow was that ever a comedy of errors with the wind blowing things around. I had a few choice words for that darn plastic!

The boys and I became quite enamoured with the little bunny. We named her Ginger and even though I had mixed feelings about making friends with the enemy (she'll eat my lettuce, etc!) she was such a delight to have around. It was unfortunate that she was only with us for such a short time. She had been left by someone who didn't want her anymore and after trying to find her way home, she was hit by a car and died Monday night. Very sad, the boys took it well. Now they are asking for us to have a pet bunny, specifically "Not a meat rabbit, Mom." I know I'm in trouble because I'm thinking about it.

With the warmer weather we've been enjoying dinner outside and after dessert we are going up to the fields. 

Tag in the riding ring and a hike around the pasture wears us out and then it's bedtime.

Tomorrow we are going to another meet another local farmer who will be selling me some piglets at the end of May. The sow is due very soon and I'm hoping I can talk him into calling us for when she delivers. It's an amazing thing to witness and I would like the boys to experience it. They are proud Junior Farmers after all.

Little Visitor

Coming out of the house this morning I was wondering what the rooster was doing. He was struting around the yard and causing a bit of a fuss but none of his girls were with him. That's when I saw it! Such a cute little thing. I grabbed my phone and walked slowly towards it snapping pictures. I stopped about 6 feet away and it was still there. It's either someone's escaped pet or has no clue I could be dangerous. I just stood there watching it smiling away when it came over, sniffed my boots and then slowly hopped off. It checked out the whole yard and then went up behind the barn. What a great little gift.

Seedlings Galore!

A little known fact. The amount of seeds that need to be started 6 weeks before the average last frost is HUGE! Whew! I'm almost through it. I still have some flowers to start for bees and beauty but all the veggies are started. Well, for now. Next raft starts again in a few days. Plus transplanting. Shudder. I'll be moving all the little seedlings into soil blocks and as you can see there are a lot of them. Good time to zone out and sing some songs.

As many of you are, I'm ecstatic that the night time lows are now tolerable. This means I don't have to make the trips back and forth between the house and the greenhouse anymore. I actually started using the car as there were just too many to take one or two at a time.

This past weekend all the lettuce emerged and bared themselves to the light. I was both excited and surprised. They weren't supposed to germinated that fast. More shelving in the greenhouse became top priority! Paul did a great job setting them up and now all of them are filled.
He was so proud when he said "Alright. You have room for 20 more flats now."
My response "I love it! However, I need more room."
Once again we both wished the main greenhouse was built. It will be, but another solution was needed. So I came up with the idea to stack pallets, supported high enough above each other for the plants to get sun. Then I can wrap it in plastic on the top and sides and make the front able to open for ventilation and moving plants in and out. This will be the construction plan for this weekend.

Here are a few of the things I've started: leeks, onions, shallots, asparagus, peppers, tomatoes, ground cherries, eggplant, okra, lettuce, spinach, Asian greens, broccoli, cabbage,, Brussels sprouts, collards, kale, Swiss chard, assorted herbs etc. All of these, except the greens have a long growing season so must be started early. The greens are for the first harvest in late May / early June.

Next weeks seeds include cucumbers, more lettuce, squash and melons. Yummy! I can't wait to try the Cream of Saskatchewan Watermelon.
Honestly I'm most looking forward to being in the garden, just need the soil to thaw and be workable.

Chicken Invasion

Just a subtle reminder it was close to dinner time.