a couple weeks ago i was standing near the hen house and wondered aloud if we should turn our old laying hens into gut-healing broth. “after all, we’re only getting a couple eggs a day, they are old, and this area is going to be a swale soon. they are really just a liability with new chicks on order…” the next day, i kid you not, there were 11 eggs in the nest! from 10 hens! and i’ve been getting 8-10 eggs a day since! production hasn’t been this good in years. i’m not saying they understood what i said, but it’s a funny coincidence, don’t you think? 

we got an inch of rain a couple weeks ago and all the plants and trees look so good. we harvested the first mulberry and all the greens are going gangbusters. after 8 years of trying different planting techniques, we are officially converted to seeding vegetables indoors in peat pots and transplanting in polycultures. we bought 6 of these, and a bunch of refill pellets. we just seed the tray and keep it moist. once the seeds start to sprout we put the tray on the window sill. when the plants are big enough i pick a little mix of plants that are different from each other, for instance, one each of leek, fennel, kale, and arugula. i plant these all in the same area, digging a little hole and amending with compost before i drop in the start. it’s easy and quick, and lends itself well to gardening in 5 minute intervals. the different plant smells, textures, and colors help confuse pests and also have different nutrient needs from the soil so no particular nutrient gets too depleted.

this spring garden is probably our best yet, but i don’t think we’ll be doing our summer garden the same way this year. it takes so much water and things get so stressed in the relentless heat. we want to build some wicking beds and do our peppers and eggplants in there.