The Maple Hill Hop 126

Welcome to 

The Maple Hill Hop.

This is a hop for folks who love the outdoors.

Feel free to post about anything that's going on

OUTSIDE

in your neck of the woods,
no matter the season.

(Please share only outdoor posts.)

*Grab the button above to link back to Maple Hill 101.*




One of the most glorious sights at FarmSchool
is the vast array of lettuce varieties.
They are truly a sight to behold.
The bonus is that they taste as good as they look!

Although Lynn is a marvel at growing the stuff,
every crop has a life span,
so it eventually bolts and must be replaced.
That's where  
Lynn's Sensational Self-Sustaining System  
comes in.
He's managed to keep his garden filled to the brim
by reusing his magical soil mix in his pots-o-plenty.

The spent plants are brought to a staging area
and lined up in rows of three or four for efficient processing.
Dontcha just love Faye's lil' red wagon that helps her get the job done?
What a sweet ride!

Pruners are used to cut the plants down to the quick.

These leftovers will go to friends 
who are starting their own compost pile.

The next step in the process is to
clean up any debris that may have been left on the pots.

The covers and nails are taken out of the pots so that they can be used with the next batch of crops.
In this 7,000 square-foot garden, 
Lynn has made hundreds of these covers for the various sized pots he uses.
They not only keep weeds to a minimum,
but the plants stay much cleaner,
which helps when you can't wait to dive into a luscious salad.  
The nails ensure that the covers stay in place until the plant is big enough to keep them there.

The contents of the pots are dumped into a large bin.
Most of the crops had been fertilized with turkey poop,
so that is another component that enriches the new batch. 
With one of his large cultivating tools,
Lynn breaks up each stack, loosening the soil.

The remnants of the lettuce are removed and discarded.

After completing this task a few times,
we end up with a mountain of rich, fertile, usable soil.
The cultivator can again be used to smooth out the mixture.

Lynn shovels it into more manageable sized pots
so that it's ready to use for the next set of transplants.
The soil, pots, covers, and nails are used all over again
to keep the garden humming along.
All that's needed is seed.
Pretty amazing, huh?

There are plenty of these cute lil' critters to be found.
You know it's good when the worms are hangin' out there.
There's always something new to learn at
Farm School.
Wanna learn more?
You can check out all of our Farm school posts 
by clicking on the tabs under our header.
Enjoy! 


What's happening outside where you are?
HOP to it!

   

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