Spring has Sprung

Everywhere I look signs of spring are peeking out.  From the crocus blooming and the daffodil greens reaching for the sun to the garlic shoots poking out of the garden soil.  There are huge flocks of Sandhill cranes making their noisy stops in the corn fields on their journey north.  Mixed among them are flocks of Canadian geese following the retreat of winter.  Soon the days will be filled with warm sunshine and the nights will lose their chill.

All of these signs mean that it is time to get to work in the garden and clean up the beds for the next growing season.  The chickens have had free run of half the garden this winter and they have done a good job tilling up the garden beds and (hopefully) removing weed seeds and insect pests.  Now that it is getting closer to planting time I will have to move them onto greener pastures so that my garden can grow undisturbed from their voracious beaks.  Moving the chickens is mostly just the task of taking down their electric fence and putting it up in a new location.  Once I have it where I want it I simply bribe them all with whole corn to get them into the new area.

Now begins the hard work of preparing the garden beds for this year's crops.  The first beds that I work on will hold the potatoes and onions.  Once those are done, I want to get other beds ready for early season crops like spinach, lettuce and peas.  The last beds to get worked on will be those that will hold the warm season crops.  These don't have to be ready until early May, but I bet April will be gone in the blink of an eye, so I will do my best to get things done while the weather is favorable.  In a few short months, my yard will become a lush green mess again and I can't wait!