With all this beautiful weather we have been having it has made me want to get the gardens all in the ground. It is still way too early for most things even though we have had 80 plus degree days for a week or so now. Our average last frost is the last of April. Looking through the record charts on line we found that in 8 of the last 13 years we have had frosts after the 19th of April ( with a couple into May) so as much as I would love to push planting up a couple weeks I won't, at least not quite yet. I may however try a bit of corn and some beans this week as I have oodles of seeds and if they get nipped and die, replanting will not be an issue.
We have been able to till or work up all the beds now. The only one left to till is the garden area down in the holler for the tobacco and we won't be ready to plant down there for at least a month.I had a big OOPS with four of the tobacco trays last week and had to replant them all. Luckily two trays were salvaged but one of those was for a friend of ours. To make up for my oops I will just plant an early crop and slightly later crops of tobacco. We don't need the seed so it wont matter if the flower heads mature on the latter bunch.
Everything planted is now up and growing well.The only thing I don't think is going to amount to anything is the small crop of alpine strawberries I started in the loft. I still continue to water the soil in the container though in hopes something may emerge. Taters are poking through the soil so maybe the terraces will start to look a bit prettier and manthing will stop talking about all my "tiny graves."
The gh veggies are doing quite well too. I am a bit worried that the peas will not produce well because of the heat we have had but everything else looks good so far. I open the door, vent and turn the fan on each morning but it is still staying about 90-95 inside during the day. I don't like losing crops but we learn each season by our mistakes and screw ups and hopefully we don't repeat them.
I now have turnips and turnip greens going to seed along with all the types of greens in the mesclun mix of greens I overwintered. The flowers on each are pretty but leaving the "useless stuff" in the ground gnaws at me because I don't have the patience to sit and wait while they mature hogging up completely good space that other crops could be growing in. The collards are the only crop that was overwintered that has not gone to seed.
The strawberries are coming out of their winter slumber and looking healthy. Asparagus still has not poked its head out as yet. One thing we have noted this spring is that that everything is screwed up timing wise. The trees are coming in to their leaves, while the dogwoods have not blossomed yet. The daffodils and early spring flowers just peaked in blooming the other day and the weeping cherry tree that bloomed in December is blooming again.
Such green growing! While you are basking in the sun, we are cold and rainy here on the Left Coast. Upside, the flowers are lasting so much longer this year. Narcissis have been blooming for a month now and still look good.
ReplyDelete