Five Years

I noticed that the last post, about my first market, was April 14, and the very first Amberglen Farm blog post was on April 14, 2009. So we've been doing this for more than 5 years, and in that time, we've gone from wasteland to market garden!. We actually started the farm on March 27 (based on the first photos). This year, on March 28, I got six more chicks. All these juxtapositions put me in the mood for a retrospective (as well as the usual catchup). Remember this?

Although this was shot at almost the exact opposite angle, I like this "after" picture a lot better! This shot was after the freak hailstorm last Friday afternoon. I was all packed up to sell but the thunder, lightning, rain, and hail changed my mind. We had to put all the stuff away and run for the bar where we dried out over the propane heater.

Not only have we tamed the existing fruit trees, but we planted this great peach. It looks like we will get a nice crop this year.

This was taken halfway through the transplanting, but all the rows are filled now. In this shot, we still had the chickens on sector 1.

 We got our farm's first chickens on Feb. 23, 2010, so they are four years old now, going into their fifth year. This is them as babies.

Our chicks have been growing like crazy. This was 4-16.

And about two weeks later. They were just way too big for the tub anymore.

So we got them out in their new pen yesterday. Rick rigged some hooks to keep it shut and they got through last night just fine.

We're gonna need more space for these guys, so Rick's been hard at work on the chicken house.

He's even got part of the roof up. Here he cuts the panels to size.

And we moved the chickens to behind the bar. This is a real nice spot for them.

While painting the bar, I carefully painted around this praying mantis egg case, and it finally hatched! Look at all the tiny babies! I hope a few survive.

I've got my backyard pretty well whipped into shape. I made those front pots just for showing off the tumbling tigers and basil. Since this pic was taken, I got the rest of the tomatoes, peppers, and herbs in.

I started more herbs for market. I'm still waiting on my next order of seeds.

Our clematis bloomed; lovely.

And the tomatoes are trying to fruit up, but I'm pinching off these early flowers.

We hit the Goose for Mother Firkin Wednesday, and drank a lovely mild. We also did the Lagunitas Tap Takeover at the Handlebar. Whee! Those guys know how to party. It was a good beer week.

Keith was in town for Rock Band! It was great to see him and hear his voiceover demos. He's getting to be quite a good voice actor.

I liked the purple undertones in these Indigo tomato leaves.

And this the shot I used for the Kitchen Prescription newsletter. I may have dried a few tomatoes... And this is just what's left!

Markets and Vistors

I did my first stint at the Chapman Farmers' Market. It was a good time. I was a little slow and occasionally a little flustered, but it will go much smoother next time, and I really didn't have any trouble. I've decided not to sell chocolates, at least not in the summertime! It was just too much hassle. The starts sold really well though. Next week I'll bring a lot more plants.

Lots of friends came, which helped make it extra fun. 

Dwight and Linda were in town, so they came to the farm. It was great to get to see them. They brought some beer and snacks to share. Dwight enjoyed the Nooner, but it was a bit hoppy for Linda. 

Dwight got to help Rick on the chicken coop a bit. Rick got the back doors all done, which was a good thing because once they were off, he pretty much had to finish before dark! 

The chicks are still thriving. They are starting to look like little birds instead of fluffy chicks. 

I transplanted over the weekend until I had used up every one of my cups. I went back to Costco today for more dirt and cups. 

Chico Springtime

Ah, Chico in the springtime! That used to be written in the bathroom stall at La Salles, and I've kept it as a motto for spring. A lot is going on. We had rain off and on all last week, which made for some pretty skyscapes.

Lavendar and amber skies!

We got an inch on the 30th, and another half inch after that.

We even got a rainbow.

The chicks are growing like crazy. 

So Rick got to work on the outside pen for them.

He's also been hard at work on the chicken house. Here he shows off the ridgeline.

I have been working on my starts. It is now finally warm enough to put them outside. I didn't sell last week because of the rain, but I will this week. 

Rick was happy to have a big bunch of peppers to take home. 

We made some compost runs. We put a truckload on the future tomato patch, and I got a truckload and a half at home. The other half load went to Karen and Glen. 

They came by to see chicks and we harvested this beautiful lettuce for them. 

Then we got Summerfest on tap so they had to come back and get some. We also tasted Glen's latest beer which was supposed to be like Drakes, but ended up more a red ale. It was fantastic. 

Knowing this bout of rain was probably our last for some time, we had our last fire of the winter.

We found this fellow lurking in the woodpile. 

Everything is really greening up and starting to fill in. We're eating lettuce still, and the radishes and peas are almost ready.

Batch made this fantastic sign. He's going to finish it up and we'll hang it on the gate.

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What We're Eating

Eggs again, yay! This is onion and garlic and Canadian bacon sauteed up, put inside a pepper ring, with an egg cracked inside, then baked. Yum!

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