This Week on the Farm 2/23
Well the first two plantings are in the greenhouse. The onions are starting to germinate as well as last week’s planting of scallions. They are still so tiny that I am going to wait a week before I put some photos up. Next Monday we will be planting leeks, celery, and parsley. At that point I think our smallest greenhouse will be full.
We are quickly outgrowing our greenhouse space, so that is why we are starting another huge spring project. We are planning on building a 20 x 40 foot greenhouse from scratch. By avoiding a greenhouse kit and building it from scratch we will be able to save about half of the cost of a kit. But before we can start any of the construction we have to get the site ready. This means cutting down a lot of box elder trees, moving a giant pile of chicken manure, and demolishing a building. I feel like this project dwarfs the potting shed project.
We spent Monday felling trees on the north side of the building. Tyler is in charge of the chainsaw work and I haul away the brush. By the end of the day Tyler’s back was sore and my shoulder was killing me. We took two days off from the chainsaw work so we didn’t wreck our bodies before the season starts.
On one the off days Tyler worked on changing the digging points on our new cultivator. The points when they are new are like spears that dig into the ground. When the points are old the metal wears away and is actually rounded. At that point they don’t work very well and have to be changed. Sometimes that is fairly easy to do, but sometimes the bolts that hold the piece on get rusted tight. It took him a whole morning to change eleven points and that actually was a fairly easy change over.
I have been busy working on paperwork and getting our records in order for this coming season. This morning Tyler started working on moving the pile of chicken manure out of the building. Even after it has been sitting for a year and a half it is a stinky job! Tyler thinks the smell will stick around for a long time and our new greenhouse is probably going to have a nice ammonia smell for awhile.
We have to get the rest of the trees removed and the building torn down by March 2. March 3 is the start of our build and we are having family and friends come and help us put the structure up. It is an ambitious project!
Tonight we are going to be speaking at the Rio Community Club about what we do as a CSA. Friday night I will be heading to Open Mic Night at Harmony Cafe in Green Bay to talk about our new pick-up site there this year. If you are in the area stop by and say hi!