Monday, May 10, 2010

week one recap

Since I started working, it's been pretty nonstop, so I'll give some highlights going back to last week:

Friday (day 2):
- woke up to a couple inces of snow! this is ok for the crops we have out (peas, root vegetables, and covered lettuce/spinach). we're still in danger of frost until May 15. Frost is actually more damaging than snow since the ground is frozen, whereas the air can be cold but the ground can still be warm with snow.



- ate some rhubarb straight from the garden. tart, but somewhat addicting to eat...like sour patch kids. later that night our garden manager marinated rhubarb for a few hours in water with some cinnamon, ginger, cloves and similar spices, then drained and served. very tasty!



- weeded the onion patch for the rest of the morning. the grass weeds we were pulling looked nearly identical to the small onion shoots, so it was no easy task!


Saturday (day 3):
- repaired the barbed wire fences. having lived in the birthplace of barbed wire (DeKalb, IL) this reminded me of home. I'm impressed that us women outnumbered the men today, 4 to 1! guess we're pretty tough chics...



- I hesitate to say I was homesick...but I was craving some time with some friends off the farm, so got to spend the night with friends in Denver. just what the doctor ordered!

Sunday:
- checked in on the greenhouse periodically throughout the day. The plants in the greenhouse are more sensitive than those outside, so the greenhouse needs to stay between certain temperatures and the plants inside need to be well hydrated. It's no wonder farmers are such hard workers...they can't take many breaks from the farm! But I suppose 7 days of satisfying work outweighs living for the weekends and vacations.

Monday:
- compost day! We took a week's worth of the kitchen's compost and dumped it next to the chicken dome. They eat some of the scraps and shuffle through the compost and dirt to find and eat little bugs and worms. so cute!




- planted 7 trees in the permaculture garden. We had to take a pick axe to the tough Rocky Mountain clay!



- weeded the garlic, then surrounded them with hay for insulation and weed prevention. This took the rest of the afternoon!

1 comment: