As the snow melts, creatures are becoming more active. Birds are gathering hay for nesting (I cleaned out all the birdhouses in February), skunks have wakened from the dormant state and are wandering around the farm (I can smell them), and the fisher cats are prowling around the barn at night looking for prey. The dogs have been barking for hours every night, keeping the barnyard animals safe from predators. This morning, I noticed fisher cat tracks around the entire poultry area. Everyone is safe and healthy.
It’s Spring planting time, and last weekend was spent creating our transplant stock in anticipation of hoop house planing over the next 2 months. Although I directly seed many of the vegetables into raised beds, the heat loving plants are germinated indoors. This year that includes
Cucumbers - 12 large pots
Peppers - 24 small pots
Broccoli - 12 small pots
Eggplant - 12 small pots
Zucchini - 4 large pots
Kabocha Pumpkin/Squash- 5 large pots
This weekend, I’ll finish planting the spring greens - 3 different kinds of spinach and 5 different kinds of lettuce.
The Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is nearly ready to approve our cider making application as a bonded cider winery. I’ve made 8 different kinds of hard ciders as test batches for personal consumption and once licensed, we can ramp up production. We’ll have 6000 pounds of apples each season in the next few years. I’ve been designing a premium beverage - Halamka’s India Pale Ale with Apple - HIPAA. It builds strong bodies twelve ways and protects your privacy!
I’m off to Dubai on Saturday night to give a keynote and Kathy will be running the farm until Tuesday. I really hope the fast melting snow does not become a fast melting flood in my absence.
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