Spring Work Schedule

As we mentioned earlier, the weather has turned warm pretty early here in Idaho.  In fact we have had a string of fantastically sunny and warm days that are perfect for outdoor work.  And get to work we have.

Since one of the major goals of this season is to be more organized and proactive about the preparation and up-keep items of the homestead, we put together a list of jobs to get done in early, mid and late spring. Keeping on track, making sure elements of the homestead are squared way before the busy times of planting and tending start is a big deal that pays dividends throughout the season.

For example here is our early spring list, which is what we're working on now:

Early Spring (Now-April)

• rake
• churn up beds and compost
• catch early weeds in bed, around beds
• remove/cut down dead weed stalks
• prune hedge away from beds & electric wires
• prune berries
• get chickens in back field to start on insects & goathead
• eliminate grass in unwanted areas
• fix irrigation trench in front to prevent flooding
• Order seeds

 

A lot of these are aesthetic but we found last year that the cleanliness of the property, even if it does not necessary impact growing, makes a huge difference in how eager you are to work on homesteading chores.  Keeping an ordered homestead makes you feel better and keeps bugs and weeds down as well.

 

Even though it has been warm, in our area you have to be ready this early in the season for at least another week of cold weather, probably even in the 20s at night sometime before May.  So a lot of our real growing preparations are going to wait until April.  That is when we'll dig a new double-dug bed and start working on our field crop (which will be mostly clover). 

Only later in May will we start seeds inside and plant some cool weather plants outside.  But we'll get to that when it is time.  For now, it's still grunt work time. 

The raspberries after some intensive family labor pruning and getting rid of deadwood

Our sizable burn piles after pruning the hedge near the beds

Fruit tree leaves ready to be moved.  This area was used as a dog b-room too, so yay.