On this publish, I’ll point out a little bit of what we’re as much as proper now, some issues which have been inspiring us these days, and some of our plans for this farming season which can be completely different than regular.
First, this coming Saturday (April 1st, 2023) is the 11th Annual Seedy Saturday in Amherst. We’ve attended each one and we’re excited to be there once more this yr!
It’s from 11 to 2 pm at 5 Ratchford St., Amherst, NS. Proper subsequent to the library.
We’ll largely have natural seed packets on the market, although we frequently carry some natural veggies (maybe some squash or garlic). There might be quite a lot of seed distributors, plus a seed swap desk. Even for those who’re not a gardener, there are different native distributors who attend non-seed issues. Try the fb occasion web page for extra particulars.
What have we been as much as these days?
Shannon has spent most of her time beginning loads of seeds within the greenhouse.
Bryan is basically targeted on some home initiatives. Our many-years lengthy technique of re-siding the home (eradicating outdated siding and placing up new siding) is transferring alongside, slowly however absolutely (one wall per yr is the pattern). It’s a slower course of for a number of causes. One is that we’re treating the wooden with a Japanese course of known as ‘Shou Sugi Ban.’ We char the outside of the wooden, brush off any flaking char, and coat with uncooked linseed oil.
A more moderen home undertaking he’s been engaged on has been constructing wood-framed home windows to switch our outdated home windows. A few of them don’t open and so he’s been finishing these ones sooner, however the one which can be operable are a brand new factor he’s studying (by doing).
This previous winter wasn’t crammed with as many farming conferences/occasions as we used to attend. However the ACORN (Atlantic Canadian Natural Regional Community) convention occurred once more this yr after fairly a number of years hiatus and it was nice!
Shannon additionally simply attended an annual Ladies Farmers Retreat which was (and all the time is) extremely inspiring and rejuvenating.
What’s been inspiring us these days?
We’re dreaming/planning of getting a household cow.
That is fairly huge information, and maybe surprising (or a minimum of plenty of people have responded with shock). We eat numerous dairy (largely yogurt and cheese) however we even have quite a lot of areas on the farm the place the grass tends to get away from us till lastly it turns into essential to spend what appears like an excessive amount of time mowing (even with the tractor and a large mower). With a cow, that grass might be a useful resource quite than an pressing however unimportant (for our enterprise) to-do merchandise.
The 1st farm that Bryan labored at was a biodynamic farm. That they had milking cows and he’s beloved them ever since.
A serious barrier to wanting a cow has been how they tie you to the farm (each day milking on a schedule). However we’ve determined we’re able to be so tied. We might not find yourself with a cow in 2023 however we’re actively making ready.
What might be completely different this yr than regular?
An enormous factor is that we didn’t plant any tulips final fall. We determined throughout tulip bulb-ordering season (which is true after we the tulips are harvested every year). It wasn’t as a result of we had been uninterested in tulips, however we determined we wished to have a yr with out them. The tulip harvest actually pushes us again to market earlier (and to ensure we’ve numerous greens and different early crops planted in order that we’re not solely going returning to market with tulip bouquets). Whereas that’s nice and we’ve loved that push….it additionally reduces time for different spring initiatives we’d love to do to set our entire season up nicely (like put up one other tunnel for instance). So, we thought – let’s see what a season with out tulips works for us.
That brings us to a different huge change this yr – we’ll be returning to market later than regular. The place we often return in April, this yr we’ll be returning to market in mid Might.
And that form of brings us again as much as the very first information of this weblog publish – the Seedy Saturday. We usually additionally promote seed packets within the spring on the market. We are going to nonetheless have them, however it will likely be later. So for people who attend the Dieppe Market and purchase our seeds there within the spring, in order for you them sooner than mid-Might, you simply would possibly wish to think about heading to Amherst this Saturday. We’re hoping to see lot of pleasant faces there!
