Geese and Vegetables

The weather is finally above freezing but we can already tell that the season is "behind schedule".  We usually see our first flocks of geese going over the farm by about Valentines day.  This year Tom saw geese on Friday of last week and I saw two ducks the same day.  I'm not sure if that will equate to a two - three week delay in everything else, but I kind of hope so.  This year has been very difficult to get our vegetable plans in order.  We learned last year that vegetables are a time killer and we thought about really scaling back.  They compete with everything else that goes on which I guess one would assume, but as with most things in life and farming, you have to choose what your priorities are.  So when we have hay on the ground or hay that needs to be cut, the window to get it done is set and the clock starts ticking.  The old saying make hay while the sun is shining is true to a point.  Grass hay can be made into bales at any time once it's dry, but alfalfa hay that we grow has to be made while the sun is shining but with enough humidity to keep the leaves from shattering, so not too dry, but not too much humidity or it will mold, and no rain on it or it will lose its quality etc.  But I digress...  Anyway, if it comes down to making hay, processing chickens, or picking vegetables, the vegetables lose.  So vegetable crop management is key.  If we can plant items that take less human capital, in a way that keeps us from having to "tend" the plants as much, we can then maximize our produce efficiency.  Sounds easy enough, but since we don't use herbicides, if I plant too much of the wrong stuff the wrong way, we'll be out pulling weeds, and when you have acres of vegetables, pulling weeds is not an efficient use of time.  Today is the deadline for getting the plants ordered to make our March 15 date for starting our plants indoors.  Interesting that I had all winter to get this done and today I'm running up against a deadline...