Happenings on the Ranch

Wow, has this been a warm spring so far.  This has helped the plants get a real jump on the season … of course, the weeds are enjoying it too.  If our crops grew as quickly as the weeds I’d be one well-fed girl!

The spinach is coming in nicely, along with lettuces, radishes and green onions.  The rhubarb is huge already and some are already starting to turn that beautiful shade of red.  Cabbage is growing strong and it’s almost time to put the tomatoe plants in the ground.  With as nice as the weather has been I’ve been tempted to do it early but don’t want to run the risk of temperatures dropping too low at night.  I’ll probably get them in by the end of the week and have a row cover handy just in case.  The peppers may need to wait another week but I’m hoping to get sweet corn and green bean seeds in the ground in the next day or two.

This season is a stark contrast to the last few years, especially last year which was very cold and wet.  The only thing that delayed planting this year was the excessive amount of rain we had during the first few weeks which made the ground too wet to plant.  The warm sun and cool nights have helped make up for the delay a little bit, though, and we are well on our way to a fantastic season.

The hens are laying beautifully now and we have plenty of eggs available.  We will also be doing our next round of butchering the second week in May and will have around 50 whole chickens ready for your dinner table.  I’ll post when they are ready and you can pick up here on the farm or at farmer’s market.

Speaking of markets, opening day of the Lee’s Summit Farmer’s Market will be this Saturday.  We’re having an opening day celebration starting at 8:00 a.m. with Cowgirl Kate doing balloon animals, singers, the LS Parks & Rec handing out coloring books for the kids and more.  Many vendors will be there with their produce and baked goods.  We will be bringing green onions, radishes, eggs, jams and maybe some baby spinach.  Hope to see you there!

Until next time.  ~Karin

As some of you know, we had 70mph winds around here on Friday.  I stood at my bedroom window watching loose items fly across the front of the property and the chickens running for cover.  Unfortunately, the plastic at the base of the greenhouse had not yet been secured.  So, as I watched, the wind blew underneath the plastic, picked up the east side of the greenhouse into the air like a parachute, pulled the supporting poles off their concrete bases and slammed the whole thing down.  The center pole couldn’t handle the violent drop and the whole north section collapsed in on itself.  I was screaming at it the whole time, like my desperate cries of, “No, No, NO!!!” were going to help.

I was really concerned about the destruction and, after the winds died down and the rain went away, I headed out to survey the damage.  The plastic was torn, several wood beams were snapped in half and three sections of the frame were bent beyond repair.  Thankfully we had split the original structure into two halves and intended on putting up two small greenhouses instead of just one.  This meant we had extra parts in the back that hadn’t been used yet.  So, Arcenio and our oldest son, Anthony, worked all weekend to repair the greenhouse.  Everything is back up, for the most part, and we’re waiting for these windy days to subside so we can put the new plastic on.  It’s still a devastating blow and I’m trying not to let it put us behind for the start of the season.

Speaking of seasons, the deadline for paying for your CSA shares for 2010 is fast approaching.  All shares must be paid for in full by May 1st.  We still have spots available so head on over to our CSA page for more info and to download the share agreement!

Despite the wet weather and persistent winds we have managed to get some seeds planted.  Spinach, carrots, radishes, green onions, lettuce, sweet peas, kale, arugula and mustard greens have all gone in and the earliest seedlings are looking great.  We’ve got a newly developed strawberry hill with 50 plants in the ground and the rhubarb bed is coming back beautifully.  Once these winds subside a little bit we’ll be planting beets, turnips, cabbage, and cauliflower.

Everything is turning green on the farm and we have momma geese and turkeys sitting on their eggs.  I love this time of year as it gives a real sense of renewal.  I can’t wait for the first harvest to be able to taste all the wonderful veggies the farm has to offer.  My stomach is growling just thinking of it.

Until next time!

~Karin

I am happy to announce we have two new baby goats on the farm.  Our youngest doe, Bambi, gave birth to her first kids on Thursday; one boy, one girl.  They are both doing well, although the little girl has needed a little help.  Our older doe, Onyx, is due any day now.  I just love having babies on the farm!  I’ll try to post pictures of the new little ones this week.

The mud I was commenting on last week has now frozen due to the drop in temperature this week.  I would much rather have frozen mud than the boggy mess that was out there before and now the sun is out so some of it should dry up soon (fingers crossed).   And, surprisingly, our chickens decided to start laying again last week so we have several dozen eggs available if anyone is interested.  Which is good for us, since I refuse to eat store bought eggs and was going through a bit of a withdrawal on anything made with eggs!!

Of course, the sun coming out reminds me that spring is just around the corner!  I am so excited and all geared up to start planting.  I have to pace myself, though, so I don’t get seedlings started too early and not have the right weather when they are ready to go outside!  If you haven’t signed up for our 2010 CSA program yet, you still have time.  Get your share of the harvest each week for 24 weeks from May through October.  It really is a good deal and your early payment really helps with our farm budget in the off-season.

Speaking of off-season, I’ve begun freelance writing again for some additional income.  I write articles for clients who need advertising or informational articles for their blogs or websites.  I also edit, update and search engine optimize web content.  I decided to put together a quick website and blog specific to my writing; the site is www.karinvelez.info.  During some of my research time for a recent project, I came across a pretty good article site called TreeHugger.  The authors and articles all focus toward Sustainable Living which we, of course, are a proponent of.  There is a pretty wide variety of subjects on this site, but most of them pertain to green living, sustainable lifestyle and alternative energy and can be a pretty good quick read.

Until next time!  ~ Karin