Keeping busy

January has been a quiet month. Sometimes, we have to go with the season, the nature is resting and so are we.

We have finally signed over the 2 garages and the prairie (3000 m2) situated just above us. We immediately started to clean up because both garages were full of "junk".

Nevertheless, we did find some little "treasures" like those 2 china set. I love those old fashion things, they remind me of the special family events (Christmas, Easter,...) where everyone was dressed up for the occasion. We will integrate them in our daily farmer's life ;)

Mike is installing a roll door on one of the garages. That one will serve as a parking space for my car and a storage place for our beekeeping material.

The other garage needs doors, windows, roof repairs,... Another project all together ! That garage will be Mike' workshop. I am afraid that, one day, he will spend more time there then at home.

During my vacation week end January, the roll shutters on the back of our house have been placed. This is a well done job!

Inside, the downstairs walls are getting stripped from their thick layer portland cement. These 2 photos show the same room, before and after. What a difference it makes!

The next step is to learn how to do clay finishes to cover most of the downstairs walls. This will give our house a natural and warm atmosphere. Some walls will have a clay finish and some walls will just be pointed, exposing the stones. Mike has been reading on the topic and we went to see different finishes at friends houses. We will also get advice from a professional, make some samples (texture and colors) and then we will start the work.

I am now planning the gardens

The books are out and I am planning the gardens. I have made a drawing of this year's gardens to help me decide where everything will go. The drawings are made for the spring gardens but also for the summer and the fall/winter ones. Why so many drawings? Because I need to know what will be harvested and what will take the space for the coming months. This is to optimize the usage of the space. If a growing bed stays empty, then I should grow a green manure or at least cover the ground (protecting it) until the next planting round.

Like I did last year, I am integrating the crop rotation in my planning. I have decided which vegetables I would like to harvest this year. I then plan the seeding schedule and frequency. The spring planting is easy to plan but this year I really want to make a winter garden. This means that my fall planning has to be already worked in the schedule. September is one of the busiest month, I then have no time for planning... If the planning is already known, I just have to follow it. Easy peasy.

Potatoes

This year I am using our potatoes from last year as plant

potatoes. I am placing the potatoes in egg boxes, in a light cool place to promote a healthy sprouting process: the sprouts are getting stronger and darker, turning from green to dark purple.

My goal is to plant about 300 potatoes this year (compared to 250 last year). I will go back to the traditional method of building up the ground around the potato plants. Last year, I was a bit careless, not covering enough the plants. My harvest was pretty good but I did get quite an amount of "green skin" potatoes. Potatoes with green skin are toxic, not edible. I did keep everyone of them and I am using them as plants this year. Nothing is lost, everything can be used again.

End November of 2019 I had planted hundred garlic cloves and nearly as many broad beans. Everything is growing nicely.

Beginning February, I seeded the green peas inside. This weekend I was able to set those plants outside, on top of the Hugelkulture (culture on a hill).

And what a great surprise!

Last year I received from a friend some asparagus seeds. I have put them in a good nutritious soil and forgot about them. In the summer a green plant developed. I was happy! This winter, I had seen that the plant had turned yellow and slowly died. I was certain that my experiment had failed. But guess what? I have small asparagus coming out. This means that the plants are developing into "crowns"! This is a nice surprise.

So, I will have to think about the good location for the asparagus as asparagus is a perennial plant that produces for about 20 years!

This weekend we learned to graft fruit trees. I have been in contact with an association that help people doing their own fruit trees.

In the summer, a catalogue is being sent out and everyone chooses which root stock they would like to work with. You choose a root stock depending on the type of tree you want to grow (dwarf trees or full grown trees), the type of soil you have, the type of fruit you want to produce etc...

Various "scion" wood were collected in different orchards: dozens sorts of apples, pears, cherries, prunes, peaches, ...

End February you proceed with the grafting. You then plant the small grafted trees about 30 cm apart in your nursery. In June you make the first pruning of the scion, selecting the strongest growth and in November you can plant your trees where they will be able to mature fully. We are now proud owners of 13 dwarf trees: various apples and pears.

Municipal elections

The 2020 French municipal elections will be held on March 15th (first round) and 22nd. This is done every 6 years.

This year I am running for councillor.

My goal: take an active roll in our community in order to understand the dynamics, the problems and help create a village where everyone can life peacefully.

March is already rolling.... time flies when you are having fun !

Talk to you soon!!