It’s been another busy two weeks at the Low Technology Institute. We had a apple planting, pruning, and grafting workshop and tabled at the Nelson Institute’s Earth Day Conference. We’ve been busy in the garden and building on the greenhouse.
Research Projects
Things are coming together for the potato study. Seed potatoes have been ordered for pick up this coming week from Vermont Valley Community Farm. Sacks have been obtained from Wisconsin Brewing Company. Now we’re just waiting on our first plantings in the second half of May.
The bee project is waiting for June, when the hives will arrive.
Videos and Podcasts
We were delinquent on the podcast and videos yet again this fortnight. It is spring, the busiest time of year.
Otherwise
The chickens are in the coop! The exterior walls are waiting to be completed, but enough of the structure and run is complete enough to put them out of the garden.
Spring is busy. The early crops have gone in: peas, parsnips, turnips, carrots, radishes, beets, lettuce, spinach, mustard, kohl rabi, and potatoes. It’s also the time to plant fruit trees and bushes: we’ve put in apples, peaches, plums, and currants. Additionally, we’ve added grafts of fruiting apple varieties onto our otherwise nonfruiting apple tree.
Now that the early crops are planted, I’m busy working on the Walipini greenhouse. The roof was built and put up on posts while the walls are built of earth bags below. Usually, one would build up the walls and then the roof, but the trench walls kept caving in from rain, and this seemed to be the best solution. Unfortunately, it gets so hot that work can only take place in the mornings, but then again, that’s the point of a greenhouse.
The bees are working, although we’re down to a single colony.
And finally, the tool library is progressing and should be open soon.
Love what you all are doing up in Wisconsin!!