Whiteley Creek Homestead

…a very good day. Temps were in the high 50s today with endless sunshine. I knew that I absolutely must spend the day outside, so I left home at 6:30 this morning to pick up a new colony of bees 50 miles away in Hackensack (Minnesota) to replace our former colony that didn't survive the winter… that part is sad. The owners of Mann Lake, the company where I purchase my bees, lost theirs as well. I brought a frame for them to examine for disease or pests, but none were found. There was honey still remaining in the comb, so starvation wasn't a cause. They said the bees demise was probably caused by the lengthy brutally cold temperatures over the winter. The bees cluster around the queen bee to keep her warm and they are such dedicated loyal workers that they won't even leave their job to get something to eat if it means she might get cold. Upon my return home, I made sugar water syrup to feed the bees which will sustain them until blossoms burst forth. I scraped last year's honeycomb frames in preparation for a fresh start.

This afternoon, I placed fresh straw in our hens nesting boxes and sprinkled a layer of wood shavings on the floor. I then moved on to my herb garden to trim dead stalks and rake leaves and pine needles to expose new spring shoots poking through the soil and fresh leaf growth taking inventory of bare patches to plan what I might add to the bed this growing season.

And…. I won a year of free Organic Valley products in the form of 52 coupons! I had gone to the Organic Valley web site to search for a recipe when I ran across the drawing, so I submitted my entry. Five winners were randomly drawn from all "Organic Rising" registered members. Organic Rising is a  community of readers on the Organic Valley site. Organic Valley Family of Farms, which is based in La Farge, Wisconsin, is a cooperative of 1,326 farm families who supply the products sold under the Organic Valley brand which includes dairy (milk, half and half, cream, milk powders, butter, cottage cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, and cheese), eggs, juice, Organic Prairie meat, and soymilk. The company generously offers a variety of coupons on their site as well as loads of information.

My empty Organic Valley milk cartons house the plants in my greenhouse that have outgrown their newspaper pots. They are the wildflower seeds from my January and February plantable calendar pages… all grown up and awaiting a permanent home in my garden at the first sign of warm soil and even warmer temps. 

I had planned this post for a later date… when I could shoot a photo of my own salad table but, since the spring planting season is rapidly approaching, I decided you could benefit from having the directions for constructing a salad table sooner rather than later. Jon Traunfeld, state master gardener coordinator at the University of Maryland, designed the salad table patterned after a metal version being used on a Maryland organic farm. It peaked my interest when I caught a  Martha Stewart episode on the table's construction earlier this month. (Photo courtesy of University of Maryland, which I will replace as soon as I can take a shot of my own table lush with salad greens.)    

You have two options… either set the unit on a pair of sawhorses or secure it to 4 x4 legs that are made by screwing two 2 x 4s together with one of the boards cut 3 1/2 " shorter than the other. The table rests on the shorter piece. Detailed steps with photos and diagrams for construction of the wooden frame, with a mesh bottom to allow water to drain and prevent soil from falling through, can be found on the University of Maryland web site. Martha Stewart has also provided a video of Jon Traunfeld demonstrating the table's construction on her show. (University of Maryland diagram.) 

The advantages of the salad table are many… you can plant, tend, and harvest greens at waist level throughout the entire growing season, it's easy to create and maintain an ideal soil and moisture environment, there are few weeds and pest problems, and portability allows convenient positioning close to the kitchen. Additionally, the table simplifies control of light conditions since salad greens should receive full sun in the spring,  light shade during the hot summer months, and full sun in the fall for optimum growth. What a fun and easy way to enjoy fresh greens all season long! It just makes so much sense.  

April 17, 2009

Today's mileage: 2-mile walk

Total mileage for April: 58.25 miles

Bible reading? Yes.

It's been 40 days since I planted my January and February wildflower seed-embedded desk calendar pages. The newspaper pots that I transplanted the seedlings into have not prematurely disintegrated. In fact…

The plants are thriving. The two layers of newspaper is adequate to maintain the pot's shape but still allow roots to penetrate. Do you see the roots poking out? Amazing… one tiny seed… 40 days ago… purely amazing. 

The wildflowers are doing so well that it is time to transplant into larger quarters… a shortened half-gallon milk carton. I set the entire newspaper pot into the soil so as not to disturb the roots. When the garden soil has warmed sufficiently, I'll cut away the milk carton's sides to plant it in its permanent home. 

April 16, 2009

Today's mileage: 2-mile walk

Total mileage for April: 56.25 miles

Bible reading? Yes.