Forcing Spring to Arrive

   Why do Spring, Summer and Fall seem to rush by so quickly and yet Winter lingers on forever in New England? The secret to leaving the gloominess of late winter behind and rushing into an early spring isn't really that hard. When we think of spring we inevitably think of flowers. Although there may be snow on the ground (as it is here in Vermont) we can bring spring inside our homes right out of our winter looking yards.
   The calendar says it is officially spring as of March 20th, but I have been forcing a bit of spring for several weeks. It all started during an unusually warm spell at the end of January when I noticed the pussy willows in our yard starting to slightly open up. That was all I needed to motivate me to pick some branches from the bushes and bring them into our warm house to fully open. Within a few days presto it seemed like spring!
   Generally flowering branches cut in January take 3 weeks to bloom in your home, branches cut in February take 2 weeks, and branches cut in March can flower in just one week. Be sure that the buds on the branches are fairly swollen before forcing them to flower in the house.

These peach tree buds are swollen on the branches and ready to force indoors.

Strip the bark from the bottom inch of the branch and put two cuts in the bottom of the stem in an X, this will enable the stem to take up water more efficiently. Be patient and watch spring unfurl indoors while it is still too chilly outside.

   Try forcing redbud, flowering quince, flowering dogwood, forsythia, crabapple, apple, plum, peach, any flowering fruit tree, as well as, spirea, mountain laurel, pussy willow, rhododendrons and azaleas. It is always fun to experiment every year and add a few new species to the flowering branches you have already had success with. Enjoy tricking these beautiful harbingers of spring into blooming in your home too.

Forsythia starting to come out in the house in February.

 

 

Apple branches being forced last month.

 

 

Pussy willows forced at the end of January added to a bouquet of flowers from The Farm at Mill Village in South Royalton, Vermont.

 

 

    



 





 

 



Glorious Spring!

   I refuse to complain about the pot holes in the roads and the mud just about everywhere because it's Spring, it's Spring, it's glorious Spring!! I can hardly believe the snow is almost gone. I can finally see where my gardens go. It's been soooo slow coming but spring is here.
   The baby chicks arrived on Thursday and they are just as cute as can be. Now I have to worry. Are they too cold? Are they too hot? I seem to be constantly raising and lowering the brooder light to get the temperature just right. They are in their brooder, a small livestock tub, with a brooder lamp on them to keep them warm, and all seem content- eating, drinking, and napping. What more could a baby chick want?

                                                                      Our new babies.

                                      Day old Silver-laced and Gold-laced Wyandotte chicks

   My first beekeeping class was Monday night at the Randolph Tech Center, and it was really informative and fun. It was not too "technical" and our teacher answered all our questions and emphasized to have fun with this new adventure. He was very laid back and now I feel more relaxed about getting my bees and setting up my hive, and very, very excited.
   With the warmer weather and longer days, our older girls are really laying eggs! So with the new "Fresh Eggs" sign finally completed, we will be setting up our roadside stand on nice days. The price of the eggs are still $2.50 a dozen. I also have a limited amount of cultivated French pussy willows for sale as well. These are the big pinkish-gray pussy willows that I grow in my yard. They are $5.50 a bunch.

The new sign for our eggs.

 

Pussy willows- a sure sign of spring.

 

   Finally thanks to everyone who has contacted me for orders for the Lavender-Shea lip balm. Although I included the instructions and recipe for the lip balm in a previous post, most people do not have the time to make it. I am going to be making the lip balm for sale, and you can contact me at thefarmatmillvillage@gmail.com with orders. The price is $3.50 per tin plus mailing.

   I hope everyone is getting outside and enjoying this fabulous weather. We finally made it to spring!

A Little Bit of Spring

   Last week's weather was in the 30s and 40s, but now it seems maybe I imagined it after all. I did take care of a lot of outside chores while the weather cooperated, so that it is a good thing. It felt so good to be outside last week that I looked for things to do, this week wild horses couldn't drag me outside. Barn chores are all done in a hurry this week. With the temperature outside merely minus 2 degrees while I write this blog, I am happy to be inside at my computer. 
   While it was above freezing last week my pussy willows actually started to swell on the branches, so I brought some inside, put them in water,and I now have catkins opening up. In about two weeks I should have fully blooming branches of pussy willows.Probably just in time for Valentine's Day.

   Another spring surprise I have in my house is a blooming pot of hyacinths. My husband was cleaning off our basement stairs, just before Christmas, and found a real treasure. I had put a pot of purple hyacinths that had bloomed last spring (a gift from my husband) on the stairs to plant in the fall and had totally forgotten about them. When my husband found them they were poking little green shoots out of the dry soil. I watered them and put them in a sunny window, and now we have spring in minus zero weather. They look so beautiful and smell glorious. Just what we need this week!

 

   We had another accident with the wild birds yesterday. A downy woodpecker hit our kitchen window and really stunned himself. I sincerely thought he was dead, but after a warm up inside he was back to the feeder eating suet again. Since this window isn't even in line with their flight to and from the feeder, I don't know why this has happened twice already this winter. Both birds survived, so all's well that ends well I guess.

 

 

   With no real warm up insight it is a great week to warm up the house with some baking. With the tremendous amount of Christmas baking that I did, I took a break from one of my favorite pastimes. With the temps close to zero today, I plan to use my oven as an extra heat source. Today I am baking a "Harvest Cake" a recipe I found in a magazine years ago. If you care to try baking this moist, spicy cake the recipe is as follows:

 

Ingredients-

 

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 eggs

16 ounces pumpkin

2 cups flour

1 large apple peeled and chopped

1/2 cup pecans

1 cup raisins

 

Grease and flour a tube pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Mix together sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, ginger, oil, and eggs. Add pumpkin to mixture and stir well. Stir in 2 cups of flour, 1//2 cup at a time. Stir in apples, pecans, and raisins. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 60 to 70 minutes.