Spring is coming to NL...but not quite yet...

 

Here are a few from around us...

Nice pastoral scene

Potato slips delivered, specialised tractor attachment plants them in hills.

The seed potatoes have sprouted and must be planted quickly.

Flowers, vegetables, shrubs, trees ....bike trail side stall, $1 a pot. Honor system, put yer $ in the pot. We met the owners of the nursery and they know  Ukatani builder/previous owner.

Double tulips

Everything is sprouting, shooting, or flowering.

This is a field of  'Koolzaad', brilliant yellow the seeds are harvested and pressed into cooking oil that we call Canola.  

Titbit :- It is grown as a rotational crop to replace nitrogen in the soil.  Originally it was called 'rapeseed' in the west.  Then the Canadians grew it commercially, renamed it and marketed it as 'Canola' (Canada oil)

Extract from Wiki  

In Europe, winter rapeseed is grown as an annual break crop in three to four-year rotations with cereals such as wheat and barley, and break crops such as peas and beans. This is done to reduce the possibility of pests and diseases being carried over from one crop to another.^[33] Winter rape is less susceptible to crop failure as it is more vigorous than the summer variety and can compensate for damage done by pests.^[34]

Rapeseed is also used as a cover crop in the US during the winter as it prevents soil erosion, produces large amounts of biomass, suppresses weeds and can improve soil tilth with its root system. Some cultivars of rapeseed are also used as annual forage and are ready for grazing livestock 80 to 90 days after planting.^[25]

Rapeseed has a high melliferous potential and is a main forage crop for honeybees.^[26] Monofloral rapeseed honey has a whitish or milky yellow color, peppery taste and, due to its fast crystallization time, a soft-solid texture. It crystallizes within 3 to 4 weeks and can ferment over time if stored improperly.^[27] The low fructose-to-glucose ratio in monofloral rapeseed honey causes it to quickly granulate in the honeycomb, forcing beekeepers to extract the honey within 24 hours of it being capped.^[26]

As a biolubricant, rapeseed has possible uses for bio-medical applications (e.g., lubricants for artificial joints) and the use of personal lubricant for sexual purposes.^[28] Biolubricant containing 70% or more canola/rapeseed oil has replaced petroleum-based chainsaw oil in Austria although they are typically more expensive.^[29]

Rapeseed has been researched as a means of containing radionuclides that contaminated the soil after the Chernobyl disaster^[30][31] as it has a rate of uptake up to three times more than other grains, and only about 3 to 6% of the radionuclides go into the oilseeds.^[30]

Rapeseed meal is mostly used as a soil fertilizer rather than for animal feed in China

Look out! Milestone birthdays are celebrated like this in the Achterhoek. Outside yer house is decorated, a funny poem is written on a bedsheet and everyone pokes fun at yer.