Spring has Sprung

Warm day - in the 70s - with (finally!) no wind. Last time we were here, we were battling the wind to put up a make-shift chicken fence, after determining that the reason our quinoa has not sprouted is that the chickens have been pecking it up as soon as we seed it. Grrr! Used some blueberry netting and old fence posts from the pig paddock and got a quick chicken-proofer up, which seems to be doing the trick. It is folded over double, and we need to get some white yarn tied to it to keep the blowing down and keep birds from flying into it, but at the very least it makes a strange enough noise in the breeze this way that no birds are likely to come close enough to fly into it!

We have sprouts! Despite the near-frost temps of the last few nights, we are pleased to see several crops sprouting. Peas are up:

As are the beans:

and radishes:

and lettuce:

Did some thinning of the lettuce seedlings, as they came up in bunches of about ten. When I planted the wind or dirt shifting must have gotten to them...that, or the damn chickens. They aren't nearly in the straight row I set up, either, so I suspect the girls' scratching for bugs is to blame.

Inside, we have most of the herbs up (no sign of the stevia yet), the tomatoes are up and thinned, and the peppers have emerged. The Johnny Jump-ups just sprouted, too. :)

Our potatoes arrived in the mail a few days ago: a book-size box full of mesh bags, each labeled and stuffed with tiny potatoes. Can't wait to get those into the ground! We're debating the usage of tires for potato hills, but are concerned about the chemicals that might leach from the tires. Some reading suggests that old tires aren't a concern, but we're not sure. More research needed, perhaps.