First snow today - beautiful and fleeting

Thankfully this morning's beautiful dusting of snow has already melted.  We still have so much to do around here!  The barn/greenhouse reno needs to be closed up - the roof is on, the greenhouse glass is being put on today, one door is framed, a few others need to come...

But the yard and garden were beautiful none the less, and quite thrilling to our daughter, and maybe even the chickens who were not quite sure what to make of it.  Some of the herbs (like the mints, chives, parsley, dill, sage, thyme and savory) are still looking just fine for harvesting, and our cold frame still holds kale, chard, spinach, and fresh cilantro, and we have planted to covered grow beds with meslun and other greens for late winter eating.  I also found a few handfuls of the sweetest wild grapes still left clinging to the vines on the back porch.  However, it does feel like we are coming to the ending of this season.

Spring in the garden

There are signs of spring everywhere!  Today: garlic shoots poking up from the soil, kale ready to harvest in the grow tunnel, new seedlings sprouting in the cold frame, bare feet running through the yard, splashing in the back pond, supper on the patio outside, and a night time campfire.  Lovely!

For those who wish to learn more about spring edibles, especially wild spring greens that are going to be ready to harvest shortly - consider taking our Wild Spring Edibles Workshop on Sat, May 10.

In the winter garden

There's still loads of snow outside, but on the sunny days our little grow tunnel sure heats up.  The lettuce and winter greens are growing well, and we've enjoyed a few small salads.  Come March the warmer weather and longer sunlight will give these greens an extra push and we'll hopefully have a full salad bed shortly.  For now, it's a fun place to play and nibble...

This Moment

{This moment} - This moment - an end of week ritual, no words, just a special photo to remember, savour, enjoy. 
  

First spring salad from the coldframe

Enjoyed our first harvest of fresh greens (spinach, arugula, dandelion, various salad varieties, chives, oregano, cilantro) from the coldframe tunnel. What a treat - celebrated with a bottle of 100-mile Niagara wine and homebaked wood-fired oatmeal bread! We also dropped off a bag of freshly harvested greens to friends around the corner who have been eating a strictly 100-mile diet for the past year, with one month left to go. We've been impressed by how they've managed to do this, including grains, flour, protein sources, etc. We will be joining the 100 mile challenge this summer (100 people for 100 days, eating 100 mile diet) and hope to glean some ideas from these friends on where to source out the best in local varieties.

Spring weekend at the homestead

April Salad Greens

Weather was around 15 C today! Here' s an inside shot of the grow tunnel, which was planted full of seeds in October. The tunnel felt like a sauna when I opened it up, and as our greenhouse was over 30 C today the tunnel was probably that or even warmer. It really heats up well on sunny days. There are herbs, various lettuce varieties, tatsoi, choho, chard, arugula, and more! Ready to harvest soon. That's a soaker hose running through the middle of the bed. We also planted our first spinach in the garden, under another cold frame today.