Blog Post by Sierra Smith, Photos by Sierra Smith and Ruth Mares

As this image shows, Social Distancing is nothing new to the CNLM seed farms whether spring or winter.

Jessika Blackport cheking the fields on a winter day by an unknown farm staff member

This year we had a March that was colder than our January. As a result, spring has crept in with a whisper instead of hitting suddenly as in years past. However, our earliest natives are blooming strong including:

blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia magniflora)

Collinsia Magniflora, Blue-eyed Mary, by Ruth Mares

shooting star (Dodocantheum pulchellum)

Dodocantheum pulchellum, Shooting Star by Sierra Smith

field chickweed (Cerastium arvense)

Cerastium arvense, field chickweed by Ruth Mares

and western buttercup (Ranunculus occidentalis)

Ranunculus occidentalis, western buttercup by Sierra Smith

but we expect the real show to begin after another week or two of warm weather.

On the farm we are still neck deep in the “spring dig”, getting the winter’s weeds out as they get big enough to pull. We sowed all our spring annuals in February and are planting our spring transplants. The annual irrigation repair after winter weather and coyote chewing is nearly complete and then we will be sowing our spring cover-crops on all open ground.

It is a beautiful time on the farm with lots green, new shoots and baby birds. The spring is always so full of promise and with the gradual warm-up we are feeling on-the-ball and ready for the first seeds to start forming.