two branches homestead

The weather has finally started to change here in upstate New York.  The maple trees are producing sweet sap that we turn into maple syrup.  The robins have also returned and so has the mud.  The spring means its time to get back to work after a long snowy winter.  The coop needs to be cleaned out and the droppings composted for use in the garden.

One of the first things we do in late winter and early spring is start planting .  Here our last frost date is in late May so we start many of our seeds indoors. We order our seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom seed company.  They have a great variety of seeds and we like to experiment.  We mix our own starter soil for our seeds.  We use a mix of 50 percent peat moss, 40 percent vermiculite, 5 percent perlite and 5 percent organic…