Cascade Farm Update

Whew, it has been a busy month! Between tending to the garden and greenhouse, learning about worm composting, acquiring our meat chicks and turkey poults, and enjoying the sunshine I have been taking photographs to share once I finally got around to posting again.

The garden is doing excellent and we've been eating our salad greens for the past week. It is always such a treat when we can start eating out of the garden each day. Last night we had a delicious Arugula salad with heirloom tomatoes from the farmers market. Our tomato plants have numerous flowers on them but we will not have our own for at least another month, longer for the full-size ones.

A few days ago I released a couple thousand lady bugs in and around the garden and greenhouse to combat the aphids that I do not want around this year. Last year we had an aphid infestation in our greenhouse that never really went away. Another goal of mine is to prevent the holes throughout my mesclun which always seem to appear on the spicier greens. I'll get those little buggers! Currently my baby mesclun mix is healthy and growing rapidly.

Our five Bourbon Red turkey poults are doing well (after a few sad unexplained losses) and the Delaware chicks are just so cute and fluffy. We think they are all enjoying their new home. These little ones are enjoying the warmth of a heated brooder right now but soon we will move them outside when their feathers have filled out.

Two curious chicks
(a red light bulb inside a black box is not great for photos, hence the BW photo)

A tiny Bourbon Red turkey poult!

Mmm...kale

Brussel Sprouts enjoying the sun

A couple of our happy cucumber plants

As I sat here writing, a wicked storm approached our house. I ran out to take a short video in the middle of it of the hail-rain-thunderstorm equipped with very close lightening. The loud thunder almost made me drop my bowl of popcorn and Canute is snuggled up against me not knowing what to think of the noise. I suppose my garden needed a good soaking after a few weeks of dry heat, but let's hope it wasn't too much force!