April
April 5
With the unseasonably warm weather it is time to plant. I've been planting since the beginning of spring with peas and fava beans the first to go in. Many crops, such as beets, cauliflower, broccoli and choi, have been started indoors and will now go into the fields. The first 100 chickens arrived on the 26th of March and have been in intensive care ever since. Or rather, I've been giving intensive care ever since. They really are like little dinosuars... and they have voracious appetites. They are ten days old now and are onto their second 50 pound bag of feed. The feed is ok, not organic but not medicated either and we've just located a supplier of organic feed so should be able to make the switch soon. The chicks, all male, have doubled in size and are working hard on establishing their pecking order. One of the projects this week, will be extending the chicken house by adding an addition to the rear to accomodate this growing flock and to make room for the next shipment due to arrive at the end of April.
Today however, is all about planting. Enough crops to get the season started. About a quarter of an acre has been tilled, composted, sanded and readied for planting. That's half of todays' schedule. The other half is the hothouse which needs to be prepared for all the peppers, tomatoes and other hot weathers arrival- perhaps by tommorrow. The plants have outgrown the flourescent lamp set up in the carraige house. The hothouse will be completely full so by the weekend, the overdue construction of hoophouse #1 needs to be tended too so the 170 artichoke plants will have a place to go... along with the 350 asparagus plants and all the onions which still demand protection from any rogue frost that is bound to hit between now and May 15. The weekend (or next few days) also will see the transplanting of the black and red raspberries into their new beds and the newly-arrived hops rhizomes into their beds as well.
Another chore for this week is the construction and establishment of a half dozen "worm farms" which are basically boxes filled with horse manure and covered with burlap. Wetted and given a handful of worms they (the worms) will eat and prosper and following a few months we should have well composted horse money and reams of worms to disperse to all the raised beds. With the heavy clay soil, even though we've added compost and sand, we still need the worms to help the soil integration along. Our biochar operation won't start until the fall so the worms are our best bet for soil improvement.
April 10.... Clay
Most days are long for a farmer; there's just so much to do. Yesterday, however, was longer. It started with the feeding of the mini-dinosaurs (the chickens) who generally put up a fuss when I come in (even though I always tell them I'm coming to try to calm them somewhat), to remove the trashed water and food bins for cleaning and refilling. I've learned to keep good supplies of food and water for them... the other day I must have not left enough for the overnight feeding because the following morning they rioted when I put the food in. I'm not sure when we lost that second chicken but I think it might have been during that riot that it got trampled. After they had calmed down (i.e. eaten), I discovered it spread-eagled on the floor, lights out. I must say that aside from the disappointment from losing the bird, it looked very funny because it was just like it would have looked in a cartoon. I do care about my remaining 98 birds (and the two we've lost so far- the average being 5 lost per hundred) but I'm not attached to them emotionally. They have more than doubled in size (closer to tripled) these past 15 days that we've had them and they are growing up to be warring gladiators for all I can tell (did I mention that they are all males?). They constantly spar for pecking order and are curious too... once they've calmed down that is... especially when I'm refilling all the food bins. They like to watch. I haven't got to the "clay" part of this entry yet which is the main part... but I have to go feed those chickens now so later, following some field work (this is a very important planting day) hopefully I'll get to that.
April 14... Planting
Making really good progress getting crops in. Red Choi, Chioggia Beets, Purple Top Milanese Turnips, Shungiku (edible Chrysathenum), and Spinach beds were all planted on April 12. Mexclun Salad mix, Red Wing Salad mix, Hong Vit (a Vietnamese edible radish top), Tuscan Kale (Itlay), Purple Mizuna and Spectrum Greens (a spicy asiatic salad mix) all went in yesterday and this morning I have been working on a 36 foot long deep sandy bed for St. Valery carrots (france), Daikon Radishes, and Root Celery. This is the first of 4 deep beds that will have to be built... not including the very large asperagus bed and artichoke beds which will need a loamy soil depth of at least 2 feet. Later today I'll put in some Black seeeded Simpson Lettuce and a bed of Black Summer Choi. In between the planting, the hot-house sun-pit next to the residence will finally be complete enough to take the hundreds of potted plants (mostly tomatoes and peppers but others as well) that desperately need a better home than where they are right now. I also need to add 100 square feet to the chicken coop no later than tomorrow. Well, lunch break is over. I've refueled, so back to work.
April 16
Two more rows of Fava beans planted. White grapes and black thornless Blackberries heeled in where the artichoke beds will eventually be- to be moved later. The hothouse is finally operational and is full of plants (over 60 trays) . Will spend a couple of hours on that next and then spend the afternoon completing the portable chicken "tractor" pen and start constuction on the coop addition which is sorely needed. Next batch of chicks arrive next week. The current batch of little monsters will be moved into the new 100 square foot addition. The movable pen will be placed at the back to take and redeliver chickens after a day of foraging on grasses, etc.
April 23
Time has a mind of its own. It moves quickly at time, otherwise it's a slow process. Rather it's my experience of it. This week has been productive but frustrating... I've made progress... work always results in some kind of progress but the progress has all been uphill... against a lagging energy and a mind that won't keep quite and just tend to the important matters. But the ants are in my brain and so my mind is ping-ponging around with an inner busy chatter.
Meanwhile the chickens grow. They are now four weeks old and are more than four times the size they were when they arrived. They appetite is incessant and unrequieted and I am gradually learning their vocabulary (right now about 4 "words or states" that I've been able to identify) and their social behavior which I observe as being primarily based on rampage. Breakfast being served? Rampage ! What you like some tea? (i.e. water) Rampage! How about some grit (one book said they wouldn't need grit until they were eight week old but I beg to differ).... well that was a rugby match. In fact, I surmise that the origin of Rugby comes from some poor sod spending alot of time around chickens... and because we don't have chicken feet, well, the rules were changed a bit to accomodate our puny feet... later of course two chickens decided they would just plunk themselves down into the middle of the grit (most of it devoured... they polished off a 1 lb bag in a couple of hours) and decided that was a choice spot to be. Other chickens (the individuals whom I shall not name but you know who you are.. decided that perching on top of the food feeders was a really cool idea even if they did eventually end up inside the feeder- you know the expression "Prince Albert in a can" (refers to sardines I think...- well, I had to dissassemble the feeders in order to get them out, not to mention what they've left behind.... Maybe part of this week's frustration has been from the attention that I've had to spend on these charming chickens. I feed them and then go and work on the chicken coop expansion which, I must say, interests the chickens greatly. They like to watch me cut the wood once they've finished freaking out over the noise. After that, it's groovy and they like the music from the radio too... back to the pecking order chest-butting and eye stare-downs and occasional chases; you know- the chicken dailies.
I ordered 100 Beauregard Sweet Potatoes and 100 purple Asperagus crowns and one Rhubard (I've got a few growing from seed so I just ordered one). I also have 12 pounds of Jerusalem Artichokes coming. They are related too and look like sunflowers. Started 48 Cardoon (related to the Artichoke- a large thistle-like plant that Italians like to eat) and will probably start some more. Will get the hops planted in one of the semi-circular raised beds up near the top of the "salamander" field- they will stay close to the ground their first year and produce a few hops but next year will shoot up a vine around 25 feet long so I'll set up a "Maypole" and run nylon lines up to the pole, and with pulleys at the top be able to drop the vines to the ground when they are ready to harvest. the past couple of days, has been exciting also because Jeremy- who I think of as the "Bee Man of Penn State" (for lack of a better idea) has been coming out to set up hives of "survival colonies" of bees (survival refers to the fact that the colonies have made it through one or more winter- these have made it through five which is very rare in these north climates- most bees coming from the south these days) for study. So we've been talking about that. Yesterday, one of his associates, John was along and asked me why weren't the rows straight and I said that the vegetables didn't care whether the rows were straight or not and that some of them were sort of and then he said but they aren't parallel but then I replied but they are (sort of) and I'm not driving a tractor or anything and then he said that well he didn't know and I said I didn't know either and after all I'm an artist and then I pointed out where the salamander's head was and the front feet and then the rear as we walked up the hill towards the potential bee sites. Tommorrow is blue and white day but more importantly it's the arrival of another 100 chicks. Man, when it rains, it pours!
April 24
Like an expectant father... I wake early and don't want to get out of bed as I'm anxious about the arrival of the 100 chicks. All goes well- 99 have survived and I decide to follow the books' advice and show each chick the food and water. They immediately dash off when released in a very wound-up chaplinesque way- finally free from the confines of the posted box. Happily pecking at the peat-moss floor cover they find their way to food and water on their own. I'll check back later and make sure everyone is up to snuff on what's what.
April 28
Everything takes so much longer than what I project. The Big chickens were moved into the big coop apartment yesterday fortunately as the winds blew the portable outdoor pen they had been spending their time in into a stone wall and broke one of the sides today. I will have the rear outside "foraging" pen ready for them tommorrow morning. Just a couple of things left to do there. Planted Chinese kale, southern giant mustard, romano lettuce, st valery carrots (french heirloom), and Daikon radishes today. Got the second batch of cauliflower transplants in yesterday and tommorrow, before I head to New York for 4 days (more work- very overdue) I hope to get the Jerusalem artichokes in and row covers on many of the crops to protect them from flea beetles and aid in moisture retention. It will be another hectic day which will end with a 250 mile drive to New York in the early evening. Will start prepping the blue seed potatoes this evening. Seed potatoes get cut up; a few eyes on each piece (not too small)and are put into a tray in the shade where the cut area will cauterize and the eyes will sprout. Then they go into their as-yet -unprepared beds. The new little chicks, now 7 days old are doing just fine. Four have died. Seven is the average (we are told). The big chickens are down to 97 with one quite ill. Might be gone by tommorrow. Don't know what is wrong with it. He's isolated and warm. Maybe he will recover. As for the rest, they are happy as long as they have plenty to eat. And I'm developing "Pied Piper Syndrome". Every time I open one of the access doors to give them food or refresh their water, they rush over. I feel like a Pop Star.