I swear, I didn’t forget about the blog, or its tiny but fervent readership- but I taught 6 classes this spring across 3 different school systems, so there’s been basically zero time for leisurely updating. Nonetheless, I’ve been dashing out to the garden and animals between grading and sleeping, while the NC spring breaks out into exuberant life.

Magic.

Since we’re going to be home much of the summer (for my first time in 20 years), we’re expanding the garden, and the bountiful crops of spinach, kale, arugula, radishes, and spring onions are already feeding the humans, while the tomatoes, sugar snap peas, beans (both bush and pole) are well underway. Just squash and melons to still get in, but there’s more sod to dig out first. Next week’s project, along with installing our new drip irrigation system.

But meanwhile, the pigs have been GROWING THEIR OWN FOOD. Seriously. I don’t know if I wrote about this last fall, but E scavenged over a hundred pumpkins and winter squash from a Halloween vendor after the holiday had passed last year, so we fed Tofu and Tempeh some cucurbits with every meal for MONTHS. They loved the pumpkins, and we loved the free pig chow and natural wormer. Everyone wins.

And then this past week, we spent a good amount of time in the back 40 (40 yards, not 40 acres) getting the spring bees settled, and found that we have basically a 20ft square patch of volunteer pumpkin and squash plants coming up, all on their own! We move the pigs every month or two, so this was their November/December location- and now it’s a squash field. If all goes well (and we get enough rain), I’ll fence that area away from the helpful pecking chickens and harvest next fall’s squash, grown from the pigs’ own efforts.

The pic at the top of this post has about 20 plants in it. Circle of life, here on the Farmlet. And meanwhile, I’ll be updating much more through the summer, as I will be (gratefully) a little underemployed again, starting next week.

Until next time,

~Fae