Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Seed Money




Having a nursery and a market garden requires a lot of advance planning. And just like everything else in life, the better the plan, the easier the work later on. Sure, we could just write everything down on paper but having computer records means we can track as we go, share with others, and print off multiple copies. You can also keep track from year to year which is really helpful. That's not to say I don't use paper, I use a lot, but I appreciate the ease of organization that can come from using a good computer program. So with that in mind I'm happy to announce that as of tomorrow I will have a working laptop again! My MacBook, rest her soul, is retired because she's not working and I was able to find an older laptop on kijiji for $120 which my son assures me is a good deal for this particular one. It's older, the keyboard has issues, but the processor is good and yes, I will be more diligent about backing up my files on this one. You might be wondering how I'm typing this blog entry for today. Certainly not on my phone although I have done that in the past. Since I was already driving yesterday I checked kijiji and was also able to buy a used Bluetooth keyboard that connects to my iPad mini. My mum had this little iPad but didn't use it very much so she passed it down to me. It's lovely! Like a bigger version of my phone. I don't care that it's in used condition, the set up with the little keyboard works great albeit tiny. The keyboard keys feel nice just a bit cramped and I wonder if this is how people with very large hands feel every day. It's a bit comical but I'm making it work and for the $30 I spent on the keyboard I'm very happy with it. It gives me a little ultralight computer to use when I'm out and about so no more excuse for not writing the blog regularly in 2016. I might even try my hand at making videos.

Do you want some happy news? Spring is coming! And with it our new growing nursery business. With some start-up money we are able to buy in our seed early, get the supplies we need for construction of greenhouses and build a retail greenhouse at Annavale Co-Op in Middletown. We're super excited to get this off the ground so as we get closer to Spring you'll be hearing all about it I'm sure. We'll give detailed instructions for construction and hopefully inspire you to try it yourself as well. Although it may seem daunting, timber framing a greenhouse is not as complicated as you might think and allows you to pitch your roof in the best way for snow shedding and light collection for your area. If you're local, we'll gladly accept any help on building days and are happy to share our knowledge with anyone who wants to learn.

I'm hoping to talk with Owen from Annpolis Seeds today about a couple of projects including peanut growing and seed collection. And I want to have my main seed orders done by the weekend. I know it seems like a lit of work and it is for sure, but selecting the nest varieties for our garden and climate mean better plants and food later in the year. If you think it's hard choosing the perfect carrots for your home garden, try selecting a variety for market growing that's organic. It's time consuming to say the least. But in the end all the time spent on planning had benefits and rewards throughout the year.

** Just a quick note about seeds, we get ours from Annapolis Seeds, West Coast Seeds, High Mowing Seeds and Veseys. If we discover something interesting well let you know.

Well it's 6:15 and the kids are starting to stir. I've had the fire going for a couple of hours now so the house is warming up nicely. My bedroom is up to almost 16 degrees, balmy! It's exam week right now so the schedule is a bit different what with kids finishing early and leaving at odd times but we make it work. It's hard to believe Jordan graduates in a matter of days. Wow. I'm very proud. Not only is he done school early, he's getting excellent grades in the 80s and 90s. Now it's time to find a job and keep saving his money for future schooling and his mission fund.

Have a lovely day wherever you are. I'd love to know what your plans and projects are for this coming growing season so feel free to drop me a line. 

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