The Walden Effect: Farming, simple living, permaculture, and invention.

Preparing for lift-off

Seed starting

Valentine's Day week is when we often achieve the first rumblings of spring lift-off here on the farm.  Sure enough, taking the cover off the newly-seeded lettuce quick hoop just before a big rain resulted in sprouts the next day.

Meanwhile, my three flats of onion seeds are starting to come up, so I've moved them to the porch to capture sunlight on pretty days.  Yes, this year I'm going to be one of those overambitious gardeners who carries flats in and out since she doesn't have enough growing space indoors.  Luckily, onion seedlings can take a light freeze, so they won't be too much bother.

Eggs for the incubatorFinally, there are the eggs waiting to go in the incubator Thursday or Friday.  I was going to start my first round of chicks a little later this year, but Sarah's letting me get in on her chick order to add some good laying genetics to our flock, and I want my chicks to hatch when hers arrive.

Any signs of spring in your garden?

Our chicken waterer is the POOP-free alternative to traditional, filthy waterers.


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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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Still snowing here in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada, two feet or more already on the ground, expecting -19C low on Saturday night. No use thinking about lift-off until April 1, then we hope there will be no more, or few, snow storms.
Comment by Maggie Wed Feb 13 08:32:30 2013
We also have over 2 feet of snow and very cold temps. This is why I love reading your blog. We do not start planting till mothers day
Comment by Caneoaroo Wed Feb 13 13:37:36 2013





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