Spring is on it's way....

Well, the weather has still been mild and wonderful. This has officially been my favourite 'winter' EVER! It's raining right now, but I got lots done today before the drops started falling. I just planted a Yellow Transparent apple and a Lapins cherry tree. My orchard will be finished before you know it! The Y. Trans. is a heritage apple, and is apparently the best for cooking and baking. The Lapins  is a newer introduction, but is self pollinating, and I've had the fruit before, and it's delicious. Sweet and juicy. I've also now built 12 new garden beds... the count is now at 37 total. I'm getting there! I am going to have to break down and buy some compost to put in- it's getting too late to put in fresh manure, and I just haven't had enough years here to build up a good pile of usuable compost on my own.

I got a dumptruck load of driveway chip in this morning, and got it raked into the biggest holes in the driveway. The driveway was degrading fast after all the rain we had over the winter months. I was getting afraid I would start to lose customers due to the fact that it was so bumpy and muddy. I did, however, grossly underestimate how much driveway a dumptruck full would cover.... I thought it would do most of the driveway. Turns out I will need about 3 full loads to get it all done. It's a loooonnnnngggg driveway!! The worst is fixed, so I will let it rest for now and put my funds into my orchard and gardens.

I've also been working on fixing my coldframes, and am starting to plant a bit underneath them. Mesculin went in yesterday. If the weather holds, I should have fresh salad again starting in about a month or so!
I went to a couple of seminars over the last weekend on how to grow fresh veggies all winter long, and also on how to maximize the space you have for the greatest amount of yield. I learned ALOT, and feel much more confident about growing my CSA shares. Plus, I will have the added bonus of harvesting fresh veggies all next winter.