Goats are out enjoying the forage once more as the snow melts. We’re happy to be back on the landscape checking all the newly budded out growth here on the land, and putting our livestock back to work! The goats were very excited to find so many branches down from the winter storms. Everyone is eating evergreen today. Branwin was especially happy to be out, as she is shedding heavily and spent time rubbing on trees for relief. We really should take a brush to her and then play with the hair, it can be twisted into cordage. Would that then make us a producer of textiles?
In the garden, we’re planting our potato seed- I did an experiment, starting them on plates with water to grow out a few rootlets before planting them. Hopefully it’s not too early to get these potatoes outside and into the ground. They were at their limit of growth in only water, shooting up little tubers to seek soil. Two plates worth is small, but we’re still experimenting with potatoes so large plantings are yet to materialize. Last fall we had our largest harvest yet!
Greens are still growing strong under the cloche. That mini greenhouse was buried in snow for weeks, and still, the greens beneath kept up! I’m really impressed by this way of keeping a winter garden, and hope to design more in future as needed. I would highly recommend this style of overwintering, and have continued to see great results.
Our stream is flowing strong with all this spring melt. It’s not flooding, but in the sunlight, our water feature is picture perfect winding through the forest on it’s way to The Snoqualmie Valley a few miles down hill. While the snow is in retreat, shrubs and trees are budding out, and crocuses are popping up. All my bulbs are waking from the soil, poking out little green thumbs to remind me where not to plant potatoes.
Turkey tail mushrooms are in a second flush on our inoculated logs. It’s great to see that they were not phased by the snow too much, though the cold temperatures probably halted growth for a little while. Our shiitake logs still lay silent, maybe by next fall we’ll have some flushes. So far, out of all our log plugs, the turkey tail are the only ones flushing out so far, but patience is a virtue, especially with fungi. We’ll keep working on inoculation strategies and diversifying our strains till we find mushrooms that work at Leafhopper Farm.
EEC Forest Stewardship 