Soil Blocking
Now that I have more rugged seed trays I started making soil blocks to see how they compare to the other seed starting trays/methods I’ve tried. I’m always excited to try new things, sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. I’ve tried soil block a few years in the past without much success. This year I finally go the hang of it. I’ve never had my potting soil wet enough.
The next batch of seed I start I will also seed a plastic tray at the same time with the same variety so I can monitor them throughout the season. Soil block are supposed to produce seedlings that don’t get as much of a shock when transplanted because of the air pruning of the roots. The only way to know for sure is to try both methods at once. I’ll keep you posted on my findings.
Are you doing any fun gardening experiments this year?
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Happy Easter
I’ve been keeping an eye on my turkey hen so she didn’t end up with a nest hidden down in the woods. Yesterday I went up to the coop and there she was in a nesting box. They’re much too small for her, she could only fit in about half way. I wasn’t sure her egg would even end up in the box, but when I went back up to check in the evening it was there.
Our very first turkey egg. Now all I need to do is get a tom for her so the eggs are fertilized. Then we can let her go broody, hatch them out, and have turkeys for Thanksgiving. She’s a heritage breed turkey, so she could mate with a wild turkey. We usually have lots of wild turkeys around, but haven’t seen any yet this spring. If we can’t get a tom we’ll buy some fertilized eggs for her to sit on when she does go broody. Hopefully she’ll hatch out a clutch and raise them up.
Anything exciting happening in your world this week?
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Quote of the Day: Marilynne Robinson
“I was struck by the way the light felt that afternoon. I have paid a good deal of attention to light, but no one could begin to do it justice. There was the feeling of a weight of light–pressing the damp out the the grass and pressing the smell of sour old sap out of the boards on the porch flood and burdening even the trees a little as a late snow would do. It was the kind of light that rests on your shoulders the way a cat lies on your lap. So familiar.”
Marilynne Robinson in Gilead
I am greatly affected by light. I find myself noticing light more than I notice just about anything else. Light is particularly important in photography and I like to use natural light as much as I can. There’s really nothing like the hour or two right before sunset. I call it the golden hour.
While the winter light is still nice, it just doesn’t reach the intensity of the summer light. I’m really looking forward to the light this summer.
What time do you most notice the light in the garden?
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Friday Favorite: Work in Print
I’ve been writing for various blogs for 6 years now. Blog authoring is nice, but it’s not quite the same as writing something that goes into a print magazine. While I love both, there’s something so much more tangible and satisfying about seeing your work printed in a glossy magazine!
Northern Gardener is one magazine I write article for on occasion. I also just submitted an article that will be printed in Grit Magazine this summer. I have always loved looking through magazines. There’s something about the thin shiny paper and the big images.
Selling photos to various sources and writing these articles is how I keep the bills paid for this blog. If it didn’t provide these kinds of opportunities I would never be able to afford the monthly hosting bill ($140/month) and the other expenses associated with maintaining it. If you’d like to help support the blog, click through my links in the sidebar whenever you shop at Amazon and Mt Rose Herbs. I appreciate the support of those of you who also have a monthly subscription through Paypal.
What’s your favorite gardening magazine?
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Happy as Clams
All of the birds are happy as clams. As the snow recedes they immediately go to the fresh ground and start scratching away. No doubt there will be a few bare spots in the lawn where they have congregated for the past few weeks.
Thankfully, more and more area are opening up so they can spread out a bit and kick through leaves, which they prefer to grass. They linger much longer outside now that the days are getting warmer, sunnier, and longer. I can’t close up the coop until it’s dark, even then there are often chickens outside the door trying to enjoy the last bit of daylight.
With the spring will also come foxes and other predators. As soon as the snow melts it will be time to put up the electric fences and get them going once again. Until then the chickens will enjoy being 100% free range.
I notice the wild birds are also out and about more. As I gather sap during the day I hear more and more birdsong. It’s a beautiful thing to hear and see animals and birds string in the wild once again.
Are you noticing more birds and wildlife as spring comes?
