What a strange time it has been in the yard and gardens, we have had some really nice days that almost got to second digits. They say that we are going to get into the low teens this coming week..  I hope they are right.

We have had snow, hail, sleet, freezing rain and a whole lot of rain! While the farm just got a nice amount of rain.. it was good but it was not crazy.. up the valley it was not the same at all.. they broke the local record for the most amount of rain fall in 24 hours.. It was a good amount of rain, it led to roads flooding out, and bridges going out and from the reports on facebook a lot of local folks had flooding in basements and so forth.

I was a touch worried but watch in great relief as our new collection systems went to work and while it did rain enough that the pond overflowed over into the rain garden system.. it never made it past there.. outstanding to see the water staying on the farm and at the same time to see it being collected and pulled away from the house and buildings!

We did get more pruning done.. we have finished all the fruit tree’s, plus the high bush cranberry bushes and I have 15 cuttings hopefully rooting out. We have nine babies that can be transplanted out into the other areas that are already well started and rooted out..

I took a good amount of off, I wanted to be able to open up the middle for air, removed anything cross branching and most important, give us walk around room for picking as they were closing in the middle to create a thicket..

That’s a great thing in certain places in the yard but not in the food production area. there we need to be able to walk around, bark was also peeled and dried for future use in the homestead herbal pantry by its herbal name Crampbark.

We had some rabbit damage on two of our Pixie gooseberry bushes. We cut them right down and I think they will push back up from the roots. The other six bigger bushes all took a good trimming and we have successfully rooted out four new babies to growing and transplanting into the food forest.  They really need a circle cut back on the plant undergrowth and a good compost feeding so they can produce to their best level this year.

Speaking of babies.. we got the first clean up round done around the teepee garden (above before) and that included trimming down all the “pop up” rose bush babies that need to be dug out and moved to different locations. Looks so much better now and once it dries out a bit more and I add a inch or two of compost to dig, I will get it early spring planted out and prepped for the full planting on it by may long weekend..

Ah rose’s once you are in a place, you are hard to get out!

We did very light pruning on a number of other fruiting bushes as required and I finally got a answer on one of Dear Hubbies.. It is flowering, it must produce fruit, I will dig it out of the ditch and bring it to the farm.. here honey I found you a present lol 🙂

Turns out its a Nannyberry and its growing quite well in its area so I am looking forward to adding a new more of them to the farm for better production on them. I am very interested in trying the fruit.. I have been told its a combo of grape/date.. which just sounds different but good!

We did a some smaller and bigger pruning in the hedge rows, some was trimmed upward on the lower branches so I can mow and or underplant depending.  I want to be able to do a single mow track between the rows and so we needed to clean out some under brush..

Some things were cut up to a higher point so that we could use the below area for seating and resting, I want the air movement but I want the shade as well. So I can’t take down certain tree’s until I get others better choices in place and grown big enough to replace some of what was lost.

I found one more use for binder twine and laid out in the roughest way the general outlines of paths and beds for in the kitchen garden..  This is just one little section of it in the photo but I spent a hour plus slowly digging out grass clumps.. I am going to try and put a hour into this garden on any day that the weather will let us.

Hubby also cleaned out the gate garden for the gate part but we still need more snow to melt before we can pull out the outer rows and it to dry out enough to work and finish cleaning up.

Seven of the rhubarb plants have started to pop their pretty heads upward into the sun.. the rest are still under snow.. it will come in due time.

Its a slow start to spring and we are still about 3 weeks behind compared to normal.. I expect that will just stay that way for the next month.. here is hoping we keep getting a spring! That last thing we want is a straight jump into summer heat.. stay slow, stay cool.. let us have a spring season here on the farm this year.