Jenny and her daughter Fawn helped sew seeds which we are starting in out little greenhouse. Just in time for a snow storm! And snow it did, finally! Tracy checked the high and low temp in the little greenhouse and with the heater on, we kept the temp in an decent range during the day. The low temp at night would probably be cause for concern if the seedlings were already going. We are going to try to help store heat in water containers place in the greenhouse. During the day they absorb heat, and then release it in the evening. While I’m a little concerned about the cheapo greenhouse, I think we can make it work by using all the solar greenhouse tricks I’ve learned. (and the old fashioned electric heater.)

We got a lot done this weekend, thanks to the help of Neil, Belinda, Aimee & Gabrielle, Nancy & Jake, Jenny, Ursula, Tracy & I. Together we finished up seedling boxes, sterilized soil, finished the rows, laid ground cloth, gathered rocks (to hold things down), and probably a lot more that I am forgetting at the moment. THAT is the way team work is supposed to happen! A huge thanks to all of you who helped out!

(sorry, had to remove the photos because some spammer found a way to spam the comments on the image gallery I had here.)

As we laid the ground cloth, we realized some calculation errors. We ended up making our rows wider than originally planned, and the cloth doesn’t cover quite as we planned. But most of the rows will not have the cloth once we plant since we are planting intensively and plan to mulch with straw.

The wind has also been a challenge, ripping the fabric pins out of the soil and even the rocks haven’t always stayed in place. Most of the fabric has stayed in place, and a few rows have had a mind of their own. So far we haven’t lost any fabric, and haven’t spent too much time putting it back in place.

While I love the look of the raw earth in the garden, with the weeds we have, ground cloth is a must have. I should say it is a must have if you want to reduce the labor it would require to weed constantly. Tracy, Neil, & I began laying the weed barrier and drip tape. Much more to go!

All of our seeds have arrived and so have the rhubarb roots. We still need to pick up some packets of flowers, and somehow we missed the tarragon, and probably another herb or two. But we do have a wide selection of veggies and herbs and I can’t wait to get things growing.

Today Aimee and Tracy worked on the seeding flats and handy dandy row markers for plant varieties. I mostly worked on the perennial garden area, where I also had the help of Gabriel, Aimee’s 3 year old son. Since he wants to be a farmer, I put him to work moving some dirt, and he did a darned fine job! I planted some rhubarb roots, as well as an apple tree I grafted last year in my permaculture design course. I also finally planted some garlic, rather late. It should’ve went in late fall, but for several reasons it didn’t, so it finally got in this week. I’m just going to consider this a test to see how large the bulbs can get with a March planting.

As far as live plants, we have black raspberry plants coming, red potatoes, yellow and red onion starts, and asparagus crowns. Sorry, the asparagus will take a couple years before they produce.

Closer still can be about anything I am working on now. I am completing the 2009 Rocky Mountain Growers Directory, and trying to complete Fresh Connections, our farm to chef program, not to mention LandShare Colorado… and last but not least, we have the farm!

The past few weeks we’ve been working on getting the rows ready. Yeah, okay, so using the rototiller would save time and labor… but at what cost to the soil? This first year is an experiment to see if we can create raised rows and maintain them without the use of gas powered tillers or whatnot. I did use the rototiller to dig out the pathways, but not the growing beds. By digging the pathways, we have been able to create raised rows that are ranging from 6″ to 12″ deep. The plan it to continue to build the soil over the years with manure, compost and cover crops.

Neil, Paul, Nancy and Jennie have helped so much by moving soil, shoveling manure, and helping to loosen the clay below with spades. I can’t thank those folks enough for their help! I’ve also been using a broadfork to help loosen the soil. The past few weeks I’ve moved a ton or more of dirt & manure, broadforked almost half of our 44 rows, and began to rough out the perennial/permaculture part of the garden.

This shot shows a very roughed out view of the perennial herb garden. I still have a lot of work in this section… well, in the whole garden! Thankfully the winter has been mild and allowed us to work on the garden sooner than later. Then again… we do need water!

La’ Manure… llama, manure. Aren’t they cute? They are helping to supply the nitrogen needed to produce healthy plants in our garden. Why llama manure when we have all this horse manure on the farm? Well, a bit higher nitrogen content, and from what we’ve read its nitrogen is more readily available to the plants than horse or cow manure. Another thing, llama manure is in smaller pellets, and a lot of our pile has “decomposed” into powder already. Apparently llamas digest more efficiently and there isn’t the large amount of organic matter (undigested hay) in the manure, yet it still adds organic matter to the soil.

Here we are filling Sue’s truck with a ton of pooh. Isn’t she the lucky one?! I think so far we have gotten 8 or 9 truck-loads.

Oh, and for you curious ones… it is FREE! Part of what we are doing is to figure out how to keep costs as low as possible, not only for the personal financial reasons, but also to help create a plan for others who want to start small farms.

We are thinking of helping to make it easy for you to eat as local as possible. Apart from being a member of our CSA and receiving fresh and very local vegetables and herbs, we are considering adding a fruit share option, as well as options for local meat. Tracy and I have found great sources for organic fruit, free-range chicken & eggs, 100% grass-fed beef, bison, and lamb, and pastured pork. Interested? Contact Tracy from our contact form, or at 303.665.6309.

Support your community, be the change… eat local, be local!