Our indoor seed bed

Since we don't have a heated greenhouse, at this time of year when the weather is still chilly and very temperamental, we start all our seedlings inside (the house!).

Our initial seed bed is literally a bed with mattress removed and replaced with a layer of plastic,  insulating bubble wrap, sand and our heating cable/mat.

This bed holds only about 9 seed trays but that is still 2,700 seedlings at one time (over 30,000 flowers)....When it starts getting a little warmer, we also make a similar seed bed outside in the propagation greenhouse..

Some of the first flower seedlings are ready for the next stage; transplanting into larger soil-blocks. This is when we really start using a lot of space as each of the 300 mini-blocks in the initial trays is transplanted into trays of just 36 larger soil-blocks... so 1 tray turns into 8.....

Best get making those soil-blocks.

Tapping time...delicious!

The skies are blue, the sap has been running, so Jamie has started his annual workout (ie. hauling buckets of sap from the bottom field up to the house for boiling). The stove is cranked up and fingers crossed we will have some delicious syrup soon.

 

Just testing....

stove cranked up

slowly boiling down!!

Snow? Ha Ha

Well it seems news of this recent snow storm reached far and wide - thanks for thinking of us. We just hunkered down inside and watched while it all piled up around us. Certainly was the most snow all in one go that have ever seen in my life.

Didn't dare start shovelling or blowing a pathway out until yesterday because the wind was just drifting it in all the wrong places.

Took Jamie several man hours to get the struggling tractor through some parts of the driveway which were up to his waist.

Now, 24 hours later rain is just pelting down sending it all into a soggy state of mush. Good job I have seed catalogues to keep me busy.