Amberglen Farm: Meeting Monica

We were working on the farm last weekend when we heard a little hello from the gate. I went and opened it, and we got to meet a fellow gardener: Monica. Monica is friends with folks who just moved in across the street (next to the triplex). She knows the GRUB folks and helps out at the community garden on 14th, so she wanted to see what we had going on. She was very nice, and we look forward to visiting with her again and sharing farming news. Besides, she wasn't shy about posing! What a great pic.

The starts in the greenhouse are bulking up like crazy. I transplanted 10 tangerine tomatoes into one gallon pots yesterday, and potted up some basil (Genovese, from Johnny's Seeds). All the peppers look great. Rick C took some back and put them in the ground at his house. He looked at the long term forcast, and felt that we'd have enough warm weather to get away with it. In Chico, the last frost date is around April 15th, so this is about the earliest we could consider it. We stuck the compost thermometer in the ground, and got temps close to 70 at midday. But more importantly, we left it overnight, and when Buddy checked it at 8 am, the temp was still around 60. That does suggest that we have warm enough soil. Rick C uses this plant phrenology: if the bermuda grass is growing, it's warm enough to plant. Here Rick does his research. Notice he needs TWO iPads!

We also moved all the compost from R onto the new tomato patch, and I weeded out and mulched the back. Buddy had already dug out most of the problem stuff, but I pulled out the last of the roots, laid out the cardboard, and put down straw to make a defensible zone along the house. We'll let the chickens turn the compost in to the soil so we can plant soon. I strung some twine for the snow peas, which are already 6 inches tall. I hope it doesn't get too hot too soon for them. But the biggest project last weekend was finishing the path. Rick J went out to Sutherland Landscape with buckets, and brought back a bunch of sand. We poured the sand down, set out all the flagstones, and worked them flat and level. The path is lovely! We'll let it settle a bit, then plant the flowers in the cracks.

The whole farm area is just alive with critters. We enjoy the chorus of birdsong from the thicket in the glen, and watch them pig-out at the feeder. The favas are host to every type of beneficial insect imaginable, feasting on the aphids farmed by the ants. We've had to discourage the aphids with sprays of soapy water. The borage is just alive with bees. This lovely tiger swallowtail rested on this leaf in the sun for a long time, letting me take lots of pics.