Catching up on a month of work

I didn't intend to take a month break from the blog, but as things have picked up speed this spring, I've been a little overwhelmed. We have our hands in a lot of ongoing projects, so this catch-all post covers a lot of ground.

First off: The chicks are doing great. They're pretty ugly now, and quite terrified of us despite us seeing to all their needs for their whole lives, but they're healthy and growing fast.

I set up a pen in the yard one day so they could explore bugs and leaves, but mostly they just cowered along the wall.

They've grown about 7 inches in one month, and their bin is getting pretty crowded. They tip over their food dish and drink (or spill) all the water about twice a day. Good thing their permanent home will be ready soon! The chicken coop is basically done except for a couple coats of paint, and we have to wait on a few dry days before we can take care of that chore. The window shutters and nest boxes came together over the past few weeks and we really like how they look. And best of all, the hasn't been leaking anywhere, despite plenty of rain.

The closed window shutter and storage bin on one side of the coop.

Opening the shutter to show the screen underneath. We'll prop it open in nice weather.

Instead of a storage area, the other side of the coop has nest boxes. The inside of the coop also features lovely linoleum and a small chicken door.

Next weekend we'll be expanding our menagerie to include honey bees. Mike's family had a lot of success with their new hive last year, and they're splitting it and giving us a swarm. We've started building the hives and getting the equipment we need to bee-keep, but it all still needs to be assembled. I've been reading a book on bee-keeping, but mostly we're relying on the Horns' expertise to guide us. With luck, about the same time we start getting eggs from the chickens, we'll also be able to harvest quite a bit of honey.

Our seedlings continue to progress. The brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and brussels sprouts) that we've transplanted to raised beds are doing very well and haven't been bothered by deer yet. Lettuce, spinach, and kale that we seeded outside are all growing fast, too. The transplanted tomato and onion seedlings are struggling to take off, though. We have bell peppers, jalapenos, cucumber, cantaloupe, and herbs started indoors.

Other projects: In addition to what we're putting in the garden, this year we've planted 75 strawberry plants, 9 raspberry bushes, 3 apple trees, 1 cherry tree, 2 pawpaw trees, 3 hazelnut bushes, 1 gooseberry bush, and about a dozen flowering trees and shrubs including dogwoods, redbuds, and forsythia. Mike did way more of the work than me, though. I hate planting trees. Everywhere you dig around here, you have to chop up tons of roots. It's exhausting. I was dreading the boxes of saplings that kept showing up at the house needing to be planted. But I know I'll be happy to have fruit and flowers for the next couple decades.

Mike also set up mushroom logs. He soaked the logs, drilled holes all over them, and then inserted mushroom spore plugs that we bought from a garden center. He melted wax to seal over the plugs, and then made sure the logs were secure in a shady spot behind the barn where they can stay cool and damp. Now all we have to do is wait about 18 months while the spores slowly grow and take over the logs, and then we'll be able to harvest oyster mushrooms and maitake mushrooms. We've never tried maitakes (also called hen-of-the-woods), but they're supposed to be tasty.

I think that summarizes the bulk of our spring. We'll continue digging raised beds and planting seeds, but I'm optimistic that the hardest work is behind us for the year.