Farmers, start your engines! Spring is officially here!

And Cockamamy Farm is getting under way, thanks to our fabulous little greenhouse and some crazy-warm temps that have thawed the ground and allowed us to prepare a garden plot.

Inside the greenhouse, we started several different kinds of lettuces, ground cherries, broccoli, cabbage, endive, and asparagus about 10 days ago. Now, many of the seeds have germinated and are starting to break through the soil.

Outside the greenhouse, Ben built raised beds on the long sides of the greenhouse.

On the east side we planted three types of quinoa, and three types of spinach on the west side.

We also planted Fava Beans and cilantro in containers.

In the garden itself, we have sown beets, radishes, and carrots. We also started laying out our garden paths with tree rounds from a few of the trees we’ve taken down. Even with just one row in the black dirt, they look so great! I can’t wait to see what several rows of the rounds will add to the full, green garden later this summer!

Finally, we planted two types of mushrooms by inoculating logs with small plugs Ben ordered on-line.

We drilled holes on all sides of each log, inserted the plugs, and then sealed each hole with hot, liquid wax. We then placed each log on the north side of the mantainer and in about a year’s time, we will submerge the logs in water and, if all goes according to plan, mushrooms will grow. That’s what I call a long-term crop.

We are having a blast digging in the dirt! It is really tough to hold back from planting everything when it is 70 degrees out. But we have to keep reminding each other that “last frost” is still a month away! Have you gotten your hands dirty yet?