April on CAF

In New Mexico, ditches called “acequias” crisscross the landscape delivering water to the thirsty desert land. Many of these ditches are pre-columbian. The one we are on was most likely dug in the 1800’s. The Acequia is fed from the Jemez River and was turned on two weeks ago- a sure sign that spring is here!

This one’s for you Eric. The little guys are now a couple of feet tall.

Two weeks ago, we planted five new fruit trees; a peach, two heirloom apples, a sweet cherry and a pie cherry. We then put in a drip irrigation system. This photo is of Stosh admiring his work (he dug many, many yards of trench that afternoon).

berry patch

We worked hard this weekend. Stosh tilled the sheet mulch into the soil of the main garden and then tilled a new berry patch where we planted 5 blackberry vines, 8 raspberry vines and about 60 strawberry plants. The soil has improved tremendously since last fall. I guess all that alpaca poop we hauled off the mountain really paid off (Thanks Mickey & Evelyn!). 

  

 

Seedlings

We ran out of south facing window space for all our veggie starts so we decided to invest in a few grow lights. Here are a couple of photos of the little guys in their new grow room.  So far we have something like 400 plants! This weekend we’ll rototill the garden and start planting cool weather crops.

Nesting Boxes

I finished up the nesting boxes this afternoon. The coop still has a ways to go (we’ve only built the floor so far) but once the girls arrive and grow up they now have a place to lay.   To construct it,  used recycled wood and corrugated metal that we salvaged from the Albuquerque scrap yard a few weeks ago. The perches are made from branches that I pruned  from the fruit trees last week.   

Baby Garlic

“To grow garlic means that you have to put your attention to something else much of the time. It follows that you ought not grow garlic unless you are willing to let it make you as patient as it needs for its purposes.”

- From A Garlic Testament by Stanley Crawford. 

 

In late October Stosh, Eric,  and I planted our first  seeds of the year, garlic bulbs. As explained in Mr. Crawford’s Testament, garlic likes to winter over under ground in the moist, cold earth. I must admit, no matter how much I enjoy his book and trust his detailed and eloquent advise,  I was a little skeptical things would pan out according to plan. After all, we had a very cold winter. How could those little guys make it through without turning into little popsicles?  As of this weekend, I can put my doubts to rest. Just like he says, “There is something startling about  such abundant growth so early, a month or so before most trees have begun to leaf out, before the garden has been tilled or planted, before most of the annual weeds have even sprouted. Now is when garlic makes a run for it.” We are now the proud parents of two rows (or three where Eric planted) of handsome baby garlic.   Thank you Mr. Crawford!

The Coop (part one)

It is February. The month of love, and around here, the month of the coop. Stosh and I have been thinking about housing our unborn birds for quite some time now (by some counts years). We have read books, searched the internet, and visited with chicken savvy neighbors. We have made sketches of the perfect coop. Here are some photos from our recent trip to Coronado Salvage in Albuquerque to gather building supplies. We filled the bed of the pick-up with scrap wood and corrugated metal for $26. What a steal! Next post, building the birdhouse. 

Howdy!

This is my first attempt at blogging. I’m feeling a little gun-shy. Rather than pontificate over what to write I’ll just post a photo of what the birds are up against right now. It is chilly out there! More later. Time for another cup of hot chocolate…