Welcome to the new weekly update D Acres Blog.
March has been a very c-c-c-cold month! Based on what's happening here at the farm, we'd say we are about 2 weeks behind in our gardening world!
The solarium that we built last year has been put to great use, so much better than gearing up for spring in the basement! We've planted a wide variety of plants including Micro-greens for harvest in the next couple of months. Did you know about that? I didn't! Those kale seeds, arugula, mizuna, spinach and leaf lettuce and mustard green that are left over from last year (or buy some now!) can be planted and harvested within 4-6 weeks. We strive to eat as locally and as sustainably as possible, and this gives us that opportunity. Instead of hitting the grocery store to purchase organic greens from California, we've been growing them for the past 3 months and enjoying them on a regular basis. The solarium is steadily being filled with more and more infant greens, it's like a huge nursery of baby plants being tended to lovingly by our residents and awesome volunteers who love to get their hands dirty!
Pruning of our fruit trees has commenced, on warmer days. The apples, pears, plums and Kiwis are receiving much needed trims for gorgeous fruiting this growing season. As a side note, I have to admit, I had no idea Kiwi's could grow here (they seem tropical to me). The kiwi that is getting a trim is an unruly mass of gorgeous vines! It's 20 years old and bears sweet delicious kiwis by the pound! Nearby is a baby kiwi just waiting to be treated lovingly and encouraged to be a good, well trained and pruned youngster!
Attending the Master Gardener Symposium this past Saturday was a great success. There was well over 100 people in attendance. Having the opportunity to listen to a great group of speakers and learn about school gardens, community gardens, beneficial predatoriod insects, and the favorites of long time gardener Roger Swain of "The Victory Garden" show was eye opening. I walked away with much more knowledge than I had walked in with, including the 6 truly native edible plants (do you know what they are?)
Creating our Herbal Tea has got to be one of my favorite things that I've done so far! Measuring, processing and blending twelve herbs into gallon jars, knowing how delicious and healthy it is, is an extremely satisfying experience! 
This past Kid's Day "Get Painty" with Veggie Art Girl Stacey Lucas was a fabulous success! Over 18 kids created beautiful paintings of spring flowers. Wicked happy to announce that this event will be occurring every month, Stacey is a phenomenal artistic instructor and the kids just LOVE her!
~ Peace!
Sonia
