Dry Winter But the Planting Goes On

It has been so dry this winter I had to start irrigating on Valentines day, the feed in the pasture is almost non existent,and we have been having to feed more hay than usual with less built up from last year. Not so fun when hay is $20 a bale and feed keeps going up.  At Skyridge School the kids and I have been weeding beds, moving bulbs, and started getting the greenhouse ready to plant during January and the beginning of February.  We created a swale to help hold water coming down the hill but needed to wait for rain to go much further.  A few sticks, some tape, a piece of string and a weight made a quick A frame level to show the kids how to find the contour of the hillside.

Now we were starting to get cool weather seeds planted.  Most of those we put in flats filled with compost and garden soil then topped with a little bit of seed starter, but we put a lot of seeds into pony packs that sit in trays so we can water from the bottom.  They helped plant lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, kale, rutabagas, and fennel. We used rulers to make mini furrows on the top of the flats and placed seeds down the rows, when they have come up a bit we will transfer them to the beds.  Even in this weather a greenhouse can get to hot for your seedlings, having a vent and a heater help regulate the temperature.  But I have found an extra layer of agrabon laying over the seedlings help keep them from wilting at every chance they can get.