Signs of Spring
Early morning sights on Maitri Homestead. Wine cap and Lion’s Mane mushrooms, pear blossoms and baby blueberries, pea shoots and greenhouse starts, and mullien… I 💗 spring!
Winter Shiitake Mushrooms
We have a set of logs inoculated with a cold weather strain of sawdust spawn called Snow Caps. They have been fruiting on and off all winter. It’s a bit strange to harvest mushrooms when it’s cold outside.
Honey Bees Cleaning Frames
We had harvested several frames of honey last fall using the crush & strain method as opposed to spinning the frames to get the honey out. Afterwords some honey and comb is still left on the frames. During a nice, warm winter day we set the frames out and let the bees clean them up.
Winter Ice Storm Damage
We had ice collecting on all the pine and cedar needles causing some to snap. We had a close call with the bee hives when a pine tree fell into our little orchard damaging a plum tree.
Wine Cap Mushrooms Naturalized In Garden Beds
Several years ago we inoculated mulch in a few areas of our garden with Wine Cap mushroom sawdust spawn. We harvested a few mushrooms, but it has been a disappointing yield until this year. We’ve harvested several pounds of Wine Cap Mushrooms in the past month with more coming up now. As long as we
Near Miss From Large Poplar Tree Blowdown
We had a large Poplar tree come down during a storm near our little house and workshop. We were all unscathed, but the woodshed will need a new roof. We have lots of cleanup to do and we’re feeling pretty lucky. Luckily it was the top of the tree that landed on the woodshed and
2022 Garden Seedlings
Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and much more under grow lights indoors. Our average last frost date is April 15, so we’re running a little behind schedule…better late than never. Some new plants this year are Goji Berries, Valerian, Mullien, Skullcap and a couple varieties of Persimmons.
2021 Garden Harvest Totals
Every time we harvest fruit or veggies from the garden we record the weight, and at the end of the year we type everything into a spreadsheet. In 2021 we grew 1,436 lbs of food. Below is a list of our top crops and the harvest weight. We had 2 full freezers, and shelves full
Honey Bee Swarm Trap Setup
I set up a swarm trap today less than a hundred yards from our bee yard/orchard. Last year I put them up about 12 feet high. The traps were so heavy (with bees) that it was quite a challenge getting them down while on the ladder. This year I’m going to try a few traps
8′ x 12′ Shed Update
Finally got the roof done with my dad’s help. The T1-11 siding is installed. I need to mill some cedar for a small deck (with stairs) off the front. I still have to install fascia and soffits (with vents) as well as trim. Oh…and I need to build a door, then lots of painting. I