Spring has Sprung!!!!

I can't tell you how much I love Spring in Eastern NC!  We've had some unusually high temps for this time of year and I'm hoping that won't hurt us later on, but it sure has been nice!! I spent all weekend out and about in the yard, part of that time spent in a lovely tent hammock relaxing to the sounds of spring.. The rest of the time was, of course, spent working!  The "new" greenhouse is finally complete!  A friend donated the frame to me and it is now complete with recycled windows and carpet flooring.  I used old windows from my house, the carpet is from the 50's and is serving as a great weed barrier.. But man how cool is the orange shag underneath!!  I transplanted a few varieties of tomatoes and peppers and am trying them out in the new digs.. We'll see how they do as temperatures are supposed to get down at night a bit this week.  I'm planning to transplant basil and a few other herbs this week and will be adding them as well. 
I set up two new hives on Friday.. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and am hoping for the best but I made some pretty costly mistakes.  I wore my new gloves and found out too late that they were not for holding a tiny nail and trying to push the cork out of the queen box.  Instead of leaving the candy cork, I pushed it all the way out.. The purpose of the candy cork is to prevent the queen from escaping too soon.  The worker bees have to get used to her, know her pheremones, and accept her as their queen before she can be released.  The release is usually up to the bees as they eat slowly through the plug.  I sped up the process and am hoping that the workers had enough time in the box with her and won't decide to kill her.  At the very worst, I'll have to requeen next week.  I'm just hoping they can sustain themselves for that long without her!  As for my small original hive, it's not looking so great inside! There weren't many bees when I checked a week ago and there is no new larvae or eggs.  I'm hoping the queen isn't dead but I'll wait again until this Friday to check.  Fingers, toes, and everything else crossed! 

It's been busy around Two Bees Farm!!  It seems we made a leap straight from winter (a very mild one) to summer!  Temperatures have already reached 80 and it's not even spring yet!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for few bug problems this year in the garden.. We'll see how that works out!  I've been busy moving seedlings around.  The top picture shows lettuce and chard growing in one of the new cold frames.  It seems very happy and indeed, my belly was very happy last night after eating a bit for dinner!  I was so excited to enjoy the first spring veggies!  Beets, carrots, peas, kale, arugula, chard, cabbage, collards, broccoli, potatoes, onions, radishes, leeks, and bok choy are all thriving in the new spring garden.  I'll be transplanting some of my seedlings to bigger pots to include in my first veggie baskets in about two weeks!  I have to be honest, I'm growing a bit nervous about starting up the baskets and hope that I can make my customers happy!

The bees are coming!! I'm scheduled to pick up two boxes of bees this Friday, March 23 and will be placing the ladies in their new hives before dark (I hope!).  I've gone with some new colors on the boxes this year.. I guess I just got bored with plain old white boxes!  I went into my hives this past week and all is well with the ladies.  One hive is down to one box and I had to put a feeder on, but the queen is laying and larvae is developing.  The other hive is doing great.  Numbers are high and the bees are already gathering pollen and nectar.  I'm looking forward to watching their progress! 

The baby chicks are growing like weeds.  I've already moved the Cornish Cross pullets to the outside pen and plan to move them to the chicken tractor later this week.  The others (Speckled Sussex, Brown Leghorns, and Aracaunas) all seem to be doing well but aren't quite big enough to brave the cooler night temps just yet.  The older ladies have amped up egg production as the warmer temperatures settle in. I took 5 dozen to the Beaufort Community Market on Saturday and will probably take about the same amount this week. 

Spring seems to have sprung!  I'll post pictures of the chicks and bees very soon and hope to have another exciting update soon. Happy Growing!
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Shelburne Farms, VT The ABC's of Educational Farming

I attended a workshop called the ABC's of Educational Farming held at Shelburne Farms, VT last weekend.  I came away with a great resource book, Project Seasons, which is full of activites to use with visitors to the "educational farm that will be..." one day in the (sooner than later) future!  I was able to brainstorm with folks who already run similiar programs, volunteer, or are involved in Farm to School programs in and around Vermont.  Programs that focus on educational farming and connections to local food systems are abundant in the New England area and my hope is for this interest to trickle down south a bit!  The most valuable information that I gained came in the form of fundraising and business ideas.  My biggest obstancle at this point is how to gain the funds to actually make my ideas a reality.  I am researching the possibility of launching a fundraiser campaign on http://www.kickstarter.com/.   Check out the website if you have time!  I'm more than interested in your opinions and advice on how to attain start up funds for Two Bees Farm educational programing.  I am also working on a survey to assess community interest in educational farming programs (after school, summer camps, and weekend classes) and would appreciate any sharing of email addresses.  I'd like to have this ready to send out by mid-April and could use your help.  If you know of anyone who might be intested in what I'm doing and wouldn't mind taking a short needs assessment survey, send me their email address!  You can reach me at seahorsenc@gmail.com.  Here are a few links that may be of interest..
Shelburne Farms:   http://www.shelburnefarms.org/
The Farm Based Education Association:  http://www.farmbasededucation.org/
Kickstarter Fundraising Website:  http://www.kickstarter.com/