There’s never a whole lot of activity in the winter months. Anticipation sets in, so be careful not to get ahead of nature. Planting too early, or even working the soil too early, can be an unintentional step in the wrong direction. Fortunately there are a lot of things that can be done to speed up the process.
Here we have exhibit A, our four raised bed rows covered in plastic. Why plastic? Well, a lot of reasons really. A plastic “mulch” can suppress weeds, retain moisture and, in our case, dry and heat the soil. A word of advice, if you don’t dry your soil before you till it you’ll have a bunch of nasty clumps that roots cannot penetrate, and therefore don’t thrive in. We chose clear plastic which lets in sun rays and traps heat. This plastic is simple painters plastic, disposable and cheap. There’ll be more on this later.
Fast forward to March 7th, just two days ago old man winter decided he wasn’t done. Admittedly we were a bit worried, never having tried this new (to us) product, Agribon. Row covers come in many shapes and sizes, and I recommend these excellent season extenders. When most people will wait until the sun is shining every day, you eager gardeners should be out planning and constructing your row covers. This photo shows some Agribon in action. At 28 degrees, and under 4 inches of snow, the plants live. Naturally, there’ll be more on this later.
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| Buttercrunch & Crisphead lettuce just chillin' |
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| Broccoli under the Agribon |
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| The Polish is warming her tootsies |
Now on to the chickens and their antics, have you ever seen a chicken warming up next to a dryer vent? I didn’t think so. I'll admit, I love the chickens. In fact, they are more spoiled than my dog. They get first dibs on scraps. Did you know that chickens are omnivores? They eat grains, vegetables and grasses as well as meat and dairy.
Chickens are a delight, and I recommend them. But they are also a chore, and I think everyone who is considering them needs to come back Saturday for our chicken preview weekly episode. Until then, here are a handful of pics of the fuzz butts perusing the yard in search of something green.
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| Chickens foraging on some Winter Rye |
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| Wait a minute, they're digging holes in my garden bed! |
Well that wraps up the early season summary. To close I’m going to suggest a few great sites for buying your garden seeds, check ‘em out, then get out there and start planting (but not too soon).
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