Saturday, April 19, 2008

Potato planting and more

Red Potato before going underground

Rhubarb - much bigger now

It was an exciting day on the farm! The weather could not have been better, and we took advantage of it by planting hundreds of pounds of potatoes (all by hand)!

Though the trees surrounding the conservation land are still bare, Spring is really here to stay. Pea shoots are emerging from the ground, rhubarb and asparagus are sprouting at an incredible rate, and bird life is back.

Killdeer


The Nest

Check out this Killdeer's nest we found on the old gourd field today! Also known as a Plover, this bird has a unique way of deterring its predator from its nest. When threatened, the Killdeer will pretend to be injured, and move away from the nest to lure the predator in the wrong direction. This happened today when we unknowingly walked close to the nest during our potato planting session. The Killdeer made such a ruckus and walked around the perimeter of the field that it took us a while to actually locate the nest. The bird was also successful in calling its partner to come back and help in the defense. Quite a remarkable show we saw.

We will keep our eye on these eggs and report of the hatchings!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

New Members


A dozen more chickens will be joining us at Blue Heron Organic Farm this spring! They are still little right now, barely 6 weeks old. They are still protected indoors, under warming lights. Little do they know that a paradise awaits them on a 7-acre farm!

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Signs of Spring

onions

rhubarb

garlic

Slowly the farm is waking up from a long winter's nap. The garlic we planted in the fall is shooting up sprouts. The rhubarb is starting to poke up from the ground. The greenhouse is warm and cozy, growing baby onions, and beets and many more to come. Stay tuned for updates on life on the farm in the Spring time!