The Latest News For You
Bluebird Nesting Boxes
What a joy to care for and nurture a nesting pair of bluebirds! Bluebirds are pairing up and looking for the perfect neighborhood to raise their young. Check the boxes now, remove old nests, and make repairs if needed. Field mice may have taken up residence over the winter! House sparrows are also destructive by taking over nesting sites and even killing bluebird young. Please continue to monitor the boxes for sparrow intrusion.
Terra Depot has bluebird nesting boxes, bluebird feeders, pole baffles, dried mealworms, and bluebird suet nuggets!
Getting Ready For Spring
Our red raspberries, blueberries, and apple orchards are pruned, mulched, and ready for spring. I have seeds coming up in our heated greenhouse for my kitchen garden and the asparagus patch is ready as well. All the nice weather allowed us to get a head start to make way for our BIG PLANS.
Big Plans: Starting A Native Plant Nursery
Terra Depot is starting a Native Plant Nursery. By early May, we will have a wonderful selection of perennials, shrubs and trees native to Ohio. More native plants = more habitat for bugs, caterpillars and insects = food (protein) needed for baby birds = more biodiversity and healthier habitats. What a wonderful way to help the songbirds.
It starts with the energy of the sun. Sunlight is essential for photosynthesis, plants convert the energy of the sun for their growth, insects feed on plant leaves for their growth, the bugs and caterpillars are full of protein, mama birds feed protein to their babies, baby birds grow from being fed the protein from bugs and caterpillars.
We Will Be A Homegrown National Park
Over the course of this year, I will share more information about the incredible opportunity we all have to welcome more native plants back into our yards. Do you have a patch to plant some native plants for pollinators or to plant a “keystone” shrub? We will help you make the right selections. Our next newsletter will continue our story and chart our progress as we take steps here on our little farm to plant more natives, decrease our yard, and create a healthier habitat. Check out Homegrown National Park. We are on the map!
Partnership With The Wilderness Center
Terra Depot has begun a partnership with The Wilderness Center (TWC) in Wilmot, Ohio. We are helping to coordinate their annual spring native plant sale. Details are on their website. Pick-up dates for the pre-ordered plants are Fri and Sat May 5th and 6th and Fri and Sat May 12th and 13th. I will be giving a presentation on Bugs, Birds, and Native Plants on Saturday afternoon, April 15, 2023, at 2 pm at TWC Interpretative Building. All are welcome!