Blog

Spring is here and the days are getting longer. We have still had some nights that dip down into the low 40s and we’ve had some pretty scary Ozark thunderstorms the past couple of weeks. This is our first time trying to grow anything more than a berry bush or a sprig of rosemary on the back porch. We have a lot of vegetables that are growing faster than we can eat them. Kale, Butter Lettuce, Iceberg Lettuce, Whatever that other thing is… they’re all growing at an amazing rate. We also have a lot of starters that are outgrowing their tiny dirt squares and need to be planted before they die. David and I spent some time cultivating the rows, something that we should be doing every day, but honestly, it’s on the back burner most of the time.

On our farm everything is connected to everything else, meaning that when you’re taking care of the chickens, you’re also somehow taking care of the cows… you just don’t realize it yet. When you’re cutting down dead trees and clearing out thorns in the woods, you’re also somehow taking care of the plants in the high tunnel. Here’s the latest example:

David and I have been working over the last few months to clear out the dead trees and brush around his backyard. It’s fun to get out the chainsaws and tractor and go to town on the woods. It’s a lot of sweaty work and you are constantly getting hit and scratched by thorns and branches that don’t want to give up yet. Some of the trees are large enough to be worth processing into lumber, but most of it is either cut down and stacked for firewood or put through the shredder and turned into mulch. Eventually, we are able to turn dead trees and thorn bushes into something we can use. We take the mulch and use it in a few places, mainly in the brooder for new baby chickens and as a weed barrier between the rows in the high tunnel. So, back in February when we were in the woods cutting down trees, we were also helping the plants in the garden that would ultimately end up getting mulched to help stop weeds. Everything on the farm is connected.