First Sprouts

Although they are not much to look at right now, the first sprouts poked their heads up and made themselves visible in the last 48 hours. It looks like we have some warmer days ahead, if not all of them sunny, and some rain which should be good. Except for where we have some drainage issues in the new plot. We are going to call on our neighbor and friend Old Man Koch as a consultant on that project.

The first spinach.



















The first radish.



















The first pac choy cabbage.

New Beds

Today, with social studies classes being run by our guidance counselor and some warm weather finally upon us, I was able to get out on the farm and prepare some new beds. They will mainly be used as a winter garden, with winter hardy plants going in the ground sometime in July. During the winter that corner of the courtyard stays practically snow and frost free due to the fact that it faces south and the brick wall radiates heat back to the soil. The theory is if you can have winter hardy plants at harvest stage when cold weather comes on in October and November they should, if protected from mostly the wind, survive and feed you until the spring. The other part of this plan is to build a cold frame where the boc choy cabbage has been planted. In there will go other cold hardy plants that need a little more protection. These will be carrot, spinach, lettuce, and boc choy cabbage. Today I also put in the ground week two of turnip, radish, spinach, lettuce, boc choy, and peas.

Happy Birthday Jennifer and MFS Blog

Today is the 365th day of the Middlebrook Farm School blog and we have come full circle. Today is also Jennifer's birthday. Happy Birthday to you over there in Rishikesh, India! Winter seems to be keeping its grip on us here, but signs that spring is gaining ground are all around. You can see crocus, iris, and daffodil coming up all over, and you can hear the peeper frogs in the afternoons and evenings. Last week we planted the first succession of turnip, radish, peas, lettuce, spinach, and an Asian cabbage. Hopefully this week will warm up a bit and we can plant succession number two. Generation number one of tomato, pepper, and eggplant seedlings are starting to show their first true leaves back at Carriage House Farm.

A daffodil doing its part to scare off winter.

Jennifer over at Bennett's Farm

Breaking New Ground

Today we broke new ground for a new set of garden beds. Our neighbor and friend Farmer Koch was interested in helping us out and he came down with his Uncle Wayne's 1978 Troy Built bear of a rototiller. It took us two hours to convert 800 sq. feet of established grass into 800 sq. feet of good growing space. Next week seeds go in the ground.

Sprouts of Spring

Today we saw the first sprouts of spring. They are the garlic we planted last October. I know they all look the same, but they are a sight for winter weary eyes anyway.

Maple Syrup Part Five

Even with this spell of cold weather the sap is still running. The only problem is that instead of pouring the sap into the resevoir we are having to stack the sap in large containers. See the photos below to get a better idea. A few days to thaw out and all will be well. At our meeting yesterday all the students who have been to two or more meetings received their own bottle of syrup.

Open House

Here are some photos from the Ambler Farm Maple Sugaring Open House. A very nice sized group showed up and withstood the chill winds to check out what was going on.













The sugar shack at full steam.













The fire box.



















A drilling and tapping workshop.


























Ice cream and fresh off the tap maple syrup.













Keeping warm at the fire.











Maple sugaring old school.













The taste test.


























Displaying the different grades of syrup.













First bottle at home.



















The final product.