The snow is beautiful, fun to play in, and a great slow drip for spring growth. On the other hand, the snow melts into cement, causing the slow destruction of a few things around the farm. It’s a learning curve that helps evolve the farm into a more complete system. With weather becoming more erratic and extreme, planning for drought and heavy snow are now both coming into play.
The green house was designed to keep minimal snow load, with the assumption that a person could monitor weather and knock off snow before too much accumulation. Well, this was not the case. Some time in the night, the structure collapsed. PVC poles snapped, compromising everything. Luckily, the plastic, which is the most expensive part of this building, was intact. The plan now is to invest in an aluminum frame to withstand the snow and wind better. Since there is a cloche and plenty of indoor growing space down in the pole barn for starts, I’m not stressing the loss too much, but it is a set back. So much continued learning, and it will be never ending.
The blanket of snow is a blessing, bringing a slow drip watering to all the seeds germinating just under the soil. It’s also a great insulation blanket against any cold snaps in the night. As I type, robins are already heading back to the ground, scraping through the quickly melting slush to find still active worm tilling through the mud.
When the melt picks up speed, one building is having little trouble shedding the wet blanket cast over the land on Sunday. The cabin was designed with steeper roof pitch to encourage snow shedding. This roof avalanche did almost bury the portable coop, but by chance, things were just apart enough to prevent a burying of birds. When I did try to move the coop further away, the lifting handle broke off and will be bolted on to prevent future problems. I did note that the roosters are not fans of the snow. They stick to the roost unless grain is on the ground.
The temperature will continue to shift our winter wonderland back to the evergreen over the next few days. Let’s hope that’s the last snow storm of this season and usher in spring sprouts to welcome the start of another growing season!
EEC Forest Stewardship 