A snowy week
This week saw our 300 broiler chicks sprouting wing and tail feathers, gorging themselves day and night and taking erratic, awkward run-flights across their pen.
Broiler Chicks - week 2
Meanwhile the layers have moved into the Eggmobile, which remains parked in the East Campus. The first time I opened the side panel, the birds crowded around the wire mesh and peered at the world of cracked concrete and greenness nosing its way up through the rubble, looking as if they wanted to eat the entire view. They are also ravenous for crushed granite, which their gizzards use as millstones to further grind their food. We planned to move them onto pasture this week, but the snow has unfortunately extended their cabin fever.
In their new coop but ready for pasture once the snow melts!
Up in our rented greenhouse space, we’re potting up peppers, seeding lettuce, cilantro and brussels sprouts, and worrying over power outages caused by the storm. This past week’s crazy snow storm caused a brief power outage in the greenhouse but luckily the power came back on soon to prevent any damage. All is well and looking great! I learned the somewhat tricky procedure of making soil blocks with a hand mold. These alternatives to plastic seed trays allow better root development and save on resources.
Making soil blocks
Soil blocks ready for seeding
Pepper plants in soil blocks
Tomatoes!
Up in the farmhouse, we’ve been making lots of sourdough bread using the newly available locally grown white flour from Champlain Mills, mixed with our old fave Ben Gleason’s whole wheat bread flour. It’s been a long road to whilte flour from VT: check out this fascinating and in-depth post from Robin McDermott over at Mad River Localvore to learn more. We also installed some pleasing shelving made from materials scrounged from the East Campus site.
We were all a bit thrown by the snow this past week but hope for a quick melt and to get into the fields soon! More to come….