Spring is here!

Woo hoo!! Harvested the first artichokes from the new bed.
Sage is blooming, alliums are putting up scapes, clover is blooming!

I have finished some experiments with solar powered outdoor flood lights. These lights will be used in the demonstration house.
Spring planting is almost done and the harvest is beginning. This is a good time of year.

Rain, rain, rain

It has been raining here for days. I have managed to get some planting done and all the weeding done. The greenhouses and raised beds are ready to plant fully. All the onion and garlic crops are doing well. The tomatoes in the hoop house are perking up and starting to grow now. This week, I will plant cole crops, lettuce and radishes. I have been working on the solar energy systems and have the box for the solar water heater almost done. I altered an uninterruptible power supply and hooked one of the larger batteries into it. So now my laptop is on solar also. Woo hoo! I am already harvesting kale and some kinds of onions. Also, I have harvested one artichoke and some fennel.

Spring cleanup and gardening

This time of year is very busy here. Cleanup from winter projects and spring planting keep us working from sun up to sun down. The big push is done now. The onions, garlic and strawberries are doing well. Tomatoes are planted and almost all the winter crops have been harvested. The only thing left from winter is black kale. I had some for supper tonight. Very good boiled until tender, chopped and sauteed in sesame seed oil. A little cheese and boiled egg on top completed the meal. Very good! Many cole crops can be grown year around here on the south Oregon coast. Preparations are being made to install a wind turbine to increase the available renewable energy. A simple solar batch water heater is in the process of being constructed. It will be the plain enclosed box type, but it should produce enough hot water for the needs here. So that will be one more step to independence.