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 recently, and some of our plans for this farming season which can be totally 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 principally have natural seed packets on the market, although we frequently convey some natural veggies (maybe some squash or garlic). There can be numerous 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. Take a look at the fb occasion web page for extra particulars.
What have we been as much as recently?
Shannon has spent most of her time beginning loads of seeds within the greenhouse.
Bryan is de facto centered on some home tasks. Our many-years lengthy strategy of re-siding the home (eradicating previous siding and placing up new siding) is shifting alongside, slowly however certainly (one wall per yr is the development). It’s a slower course of for a number of causes. One is that we’re treating the wooden with a Japanese course of referred to 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 exchange our previous 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 full of 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 at all times is) extremely inspiring and rejuvenating.
What’s been inspiring us recently?
We’re dreaming/planning of getting a household cow.
That is fairly massive information, and maybe sudden (or a minimum of plenty of people have responded with shock). We eat a number of dairy (principally yogurt and cheese) however we even have numerous 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 can be a useful resource moderately than an pressing however unimportant (for our enterprise) to-do merchandise.
The 1st farm that Bryan labored at was a biodynamic farm. They’d milking cows and he’s liked 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 could not find yourself with a cow in 2023 however we’re actively making ready.
What can be totally different this yr than regular?
A giant factor is that we didn’t plant any tulips final fall. We determined throughout tulip bulb-ordering season (which is correct after we the tulips are harvested annually). It wasn’t as a result of we had been bored with 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 now we have a number of 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 tasks we’d love to do to set our entire season up properly (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 massive change this yr – we’ll be returning to market later than regular. The place we normally 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 folk who attend the Dieppe Market and purchase our seeds there within the spring, if you need them sooner than mid-Might, you simply would possibly need to contemplate heading to Amherst this Saturday. We’re hoping to see lot of pleasant faces there!
