A year of A Cultivated Art, by the month:
March
- Finish any website updates, especially any species additions to the online store for the coming season
- Spring sowing for species that only require a short cold spell (most nitrogen fixing species)
- The last week of March bring the pots/trays sown specifically for early germination out from under the snow bank and into an unheated greenhouse space.
- Check the pots of winter sown seeds inside the plastic clamshell containers for dryness as they melt out of the snow banks. If they are dry, open the tops and pack some snow on top of the pots, close them back up and leave them outdoors until germination (usually May).
April
- Start transplanting seedlings into plug trays. I move them as soon as I can handle them, often at the cotyledon stage, before their roots get a chance to tangle.
- These trays are moved to benches in the un-heated greenhouse and covered with row-cover on cold nights.
- If any over-wintered seedlings are in need of potting up, they are brought in, separated, planted into trays and then moved right back outdoors.
- Remove the deep layer of wood chips from the tops of pots over wintered outdoors as they thaw out.
- Finish setting up outdoor nursery space -mostly trimming low tree branches, spreading lots of wood chips and laying out the pallets that I set the trays of plants on to keep them off the ground/above the really high water table at the farm
- Cover trays with row-cover hoops with deer fencing stretched over them. Weigh fencing down at the sides and edges to prevent critter entanglement. (Deer snacking is most likely at the very start and the very end of the growing season, when there aren't a lot of green options available for grazers and browsers)
May
- Transplanting really ramping up, both for the indoor and the outdoor germinating pots. Starting to fill the larger size trays for the early summer and fall sales of more mature plants.
- Start screening and solarizing leaf compost for the larger containers to minimize peatmoss use. This is a season long activity, up until the sun angle gets too low around the start of September.
- Host the first sale of the season, opening for online orders (and writing all the labels that go with them) for a week, followed by a week of packing seedlings in paper, scheduled pickups and inventory updates.
- Set up screen tent in the shade for mosquito-free outdoor workspace.
June
- More transplanting as trays are emptied from sales.
- Full time work transplanting, updating inventory and website, writing labels, sending order confirmation and packing orders.
- Plant out any seedlings designated for nursery beds / as future seed parents
July
- A lot like June, but slowing down a little bit. Starting to leave an extra week between pickup and order weeks to tend plants and gardens.
- Continue screening and solarizing leaf, garden and wood chip compost for next spring’s potting up (store in old Promix bags)
August
- Cary on with July activities
- Skip one sales cycle to take some time off
- Seed gathering starting to ramp up
September
- Return to regular sales schedule
- Wash trays and pots for winter sowing and spring transplants
- Gather seeds
- Take down screen tent
- End of season nursery space tidy up
- Start site visits for winter garden design projects
October
- Gather bags of leaves (store in solar kiln in Perth till spring to kill off any worm cocoons)
- Gather and clean seeds
- Wash remaining trays and pots for winter sowing and spring transplants
- Move remaining small seedlings into next size up containers or trays. Place on ground in nursery and cover with at least 2” of wood chips for over-wintering.
- Dig root wash and pot up any plants being potted up for spring sales
- Finish site visits for winter garden design projects
- Finish gathering seeds
- Seed cleaning for sowing and various donations
December
- Winter sowing – local seeds
- Start on design projects
- Cut up any gathered paper packing material into strips for next season
January
- Finish design projects
- Winter sowing - Prairie Moon seed order to fill in species offerings
- Organize greenhouse space on sunny days (mostly as an excuse to be in the greenhouse, t-shirt weather in the middle of winter isn’t to be missed).
February
- Start asking for yogurt and sour cream containers for labels – cut them into 25 strips each
- Update website with any new content or service offerings
- Write blogs or articles based on previous season’s experiences