THE MUD COME’ITH
The rain has brought forth mud and growth. The good, the bad and the ugly.
“Roses have thorns, and silver fountains mud; …”
Shakespeare
Mud at this time of year is especially messy because the ground is cold below the slight thaw and often still frozen under there, so the mud churns up shallow and slippery.
The thaw will not last long – more cold is coming.
But Sheila and the other pigs are making the most of it.
Not all the pigs though – Tima and Tane are sticking close to home.
The sprouts are just beginning to sprout. They are at the knitting stage. As the roots grow the mat of sprouts knits together so the slight angle I have the trays on, to encourage drainage, will work better. Initially, they slide about a bit as I water.
Make sure your seed bed is no more than an inch. Be very generous with the watering. And fastidious about drainage. Tip your tray away from the holes at the end when washing so you can really flood the seeds. With each level of trays tipping slightly in the opposing direction, and the holes in one end only, you can arrange the trays so the runoff water runs into the tray below from the trays above. In a re-washing torrent. Every tray is washed individually and thoroughly then settled on a slight tilt to drain into the trays below. When my shelves arrive this will be so much easier but for the moment I am creating the tilt with sticks.
They are growing very slowly though. (Though only the oats – the barley refuses to sprout at all and was dirty and very hard to get really clean). By day SEVEN the sprouted fodder will be fed out to the animals. By Day EIGHT the sprouts start losing nutrition, then they will start to rot and anyway, I will have run out of space. So I am hoping we get some good growth by then. We will see. My house is not kept very warm.
Above is Day THREE.
Today I start sunflower seeds soaking. I will eat these sprouts too!
I hope you have a lovely day.
Love celi
WEATHER: The warmest day for a while. So we will make the most of it.
Wednesday 03/28 0% / 0 in
Generally cloudy. High 58F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday Night 03/28 50% / 0.04 in
Overcast with rain showers at times. Low 43F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Sun
6:42 am 7:13 pm
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 88% visible 4:13 pm 5:17 am
c
34 Comments on “THE MUD COME’ITH”
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thekitchensgarden 
Sheila looks very happy, though so do Tane and Tima.
Everyone is happy – we are above freezing for a couple of days!!
I seem to recall that barley needs a *lot* of light and a fair bit of warmth, but it’s worth the effort because it’s so much more nutritious than wheat or oats. Sunflower seeds are less demanding, I think. I’m looking forward to seeing a nice green mat in your shower stall!
The light to germinate – not so much (after all they usually do the sprouting underground) – but the warmth definitely. I have to BUY more barley but not this week – need to sell more eggs first. Until then it is oats and sunflowers and wheat. Not too bad though.
Cecilia, some grasses need light to sprout, maybe barley is one of them?
There is actually plenty of light in that room. And my test runs were actually in the glasshouse. The feed grade bag of barley I bought was probably old maybe even damp. I will get more on Friday
Tima and Tane – such a cute couple. The grain sprouting photos are so mesmerizing. They would make a terrific PUZZLES! quite challenging…. And the Easter buckets have great timing.
Oh MY! I am not a crossword puzzle person – that would be like hell for me.. (edit) jugsaw not crossword – I was typing too fast! sorry
🙂 Picture puzzle….. not crossword…..
Ih the Southern Hemisphere we call thrm jigsaw puzzles!
I grow sprouts for us to eat but growing them for your animals is a genius idea. Following to see how everything turns out.
They are growing – so maybe in two or three days we might have some kind of result. Though I have had to put a small heater in my bathroom which adds another level of cost to the exercise. c
Got brown lentils and mung beans today …. and off I go 🙂 Laura
Mung beans are my favourite! Do you have a lid? I have a special lid somewhere that I put on the jar that helps with the washing and draining – though having said that: in the old days I just used a cheese cloth and a rubber band. Just leave the jar upside down on the bench by the sink so you wash often and they never sit in water – I love sprouts – have some going for the kitchen too now.
Yes, it all came in a first timer kit. Next time I just buy the beans and grains.Laura
Perfect! I am pleased. The straining lid makes everything easy!
sunflower sprouts….yum!
indeed!! c
Do you have a space heater for the bathroom?
SNAP! Just put a little heater in there last night – I think this will make the difference.
Mud season is the worst season of the whole year
Especially uf you are a dog and have to have that shower before coming into the house!
🙂 Ture
My daughter would love to have a puzzle made from the picture of the sprouts! She’s a whiz at that type of thing and has put many a beauty together, then framed them. I have one of an old barn in a meadow hanging in the living room. Beautiful! Ugh! The mud season! Chicken feathers stick so adeptly to the mud that sticks to the shoes, that trample through the kitchen where my Bill lives! (I could write a song about that!) My Grandma went through the same thing with Grandpa!
Your daughter is clever!
Oh but just think how toasty your bathroom will be when you hop out of the shower! Bliss! 🙂
YES! That will be nice for a change!
I love your sprouts idea. I think your animals would love some fermented cabbage juice, too. I put it on my cat’s and duck’s food. Good stuff.
Your ducks sound delightful!
The material used for screens (the soft flexible type) works well with mason jars, use the ring to secure.
Oh, good tip Elsie – thank you!
So where do you shower now that sprouts own the space? 🙂 Everyone seems content so far. I don’t keep my house warm either. Figure the time is coming where I’ll want it to be this cool again so why waste the electricity to make it warm.
I just realized I forgot to send this comment that I wrote this morning.:( Hope you have a great day.
Yes! I so agree!. Why spend the money when it is just as easy to put more clothing on. I even wear my woolie hat inside. c
There is a way to do an on-line puzzle with any of your photos. Check in with Sarah at Equinox Farm – she does them from her photos and can point you in the right direction.
Can’t wait to see the first finished batch of sprouts!
Chris S in Canada