[singlepic id=104 w=320 h=240 float=right]Hello friends of Lick Run. Our work this past week was not slowed by the most recent showing of winter precipitation. On Saturday before the snow started we greeted two guests from Virginia Tech and gave them a tour of Lick Run. Michael Cocchiola and Stephanie Morris are part of a Virginia Tech marketing group currently helping Lick Run increase its social media presence. I showed them the house renovation project, growing conditions, the varieties of plants, and other aspects of the Lick Run experiment. They have been doing some great work and without their help we would not have much of a means of connecting to you all.
[singlepic id=106 w=320 h=240 float=left]When the snow came down we had a nice time relaxing from some of our outdoor work and Rick was happy as could be when Zeus, our neighbor’s great pyrenees, came out to play at the farm. I have heard the snow can be depressing for some people as it dampens the sound effectively lowering the volume outside. I find this experience to be rather peaceful and hope that everyone out there took the time to sit or walk outside and enjoy.
[singlepic id=108 w=320 h=240 float=right]When I was unable to work outside because of the weather I was still keeping busy. Two weeks ago I planted tomatoes and peppers. I was using up some of the old stock of seeds Rick had accumulated over the past five years. We were hoping for some decent germination rates considering the age of the seed. We were shocked to find that most all the seeds still germinated and that meant I had a big project this week. I spent a good amount of time carefully taking the five or so seedlings that were sprouting in a single cup and separating them into individual ones. This has to be done very carefully as they are extremely sensitive and to much strong handling will stunt them, or worse.
[singlepic id=109 w=320 h=240 float=left]As the sun come back out and the temperature came up to a brisk 40 Fahrenheit I moved outside to work on a long standing point of infrastructure. We were in need of a semi-enclosed prep shed for washing vegetables that have come from the garden. Thankfully Rick is well stocked with lumber and hardware which I scavenged through in hopes of jury-rigging together something that suits our needs. I am really proud of the results and ingenuity Our only purchase was a stainless steal kitchen sink from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. That will be installed in short order and I will update with more pictures.
I want to wish all the best to our readers and send a special thanks to our volunteers. Without your efforts we would not be getting half the work done that we need to.
Hunter
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