Could It Be..?

Could spring really be on its' way? Maybe, but it is still cold. But I was out cleaning out the flower and herb garden a bit. The ground is still frozen, so I couldn't pull much. I have noticed spring flowers starting to pop up. Still low, but they are on their way. When it warms up a bit more, I'll uncover the vegetable garden. I throw old tarps over it. Helps keep the weeds down and the ground clear over the winter.

I will need to be cutting back the raspberries soon, and pull the straw out from around the strawberries. I'm also going to have to harvest horseradish this year too.

I pulled down some old bees nests and hammered in some nails that started working their way out of the siding of the house. (Slab wood siding. Love the look, but nails sure do like to pop.)

Walked back to the pond yesterday. That is still ice covered as well. Also have lots of fallen wood to pull out of the woods somewhere along the way. I need to turn the compost again too.

Ordered more seeds, including Ghost Chilies. With their heat indext, I'm not really sure what I'll do with them, but I'll think of something. Probably dry some and make some sauce to use sparingly.

One of the "best" jobs (not) to do when the snow melts is picking up doggy landmines. Did part today and will finish tomorrow, when the rest thaws. Best job of the spring.........right.........

More Seeds & Spring Stuff

I recently saw a picture of Watermelon Radishes in a magazine. I thought they looked quite interesting. Well, when I wasn't even looking for them, I found a packet of Watermelon Radish seeds today. I'm looking forward to trying them and see what they are like. They're quite nice looking when cut open, actually looking like tiny seedless watermelons.

We had almost 6" of snow yesterday. Just awful! I need solid proof that spring is here, and I'm not getting it. I'm quite afraid that real spring temps will be late this year, making it a mad rush to put the gardens in which, I have to admit takes alot of the enjoyment out of the work. I'm going to start some seeds indoors, but my kitten "Jack" has grown up quite a bit, and I have a sneaking suspicion he will eat seedlings. He's a cutie but a holy terror too.

Now, I have to decide what I will start indoors and what I will (hopefully) be able to start directly in the garden. I don't have a lot of room to have many seedlings indoors, so I hope I'm wrong about the very late spring.

I missed tapping my maples this year, as I was away during that time. Looking at the raspberries, they will need a good trimming soon and I'm going to have to, this season, start harvesting horseradish. Hopefully the strawberries will come in heavier, as this is the second year for the plants here since transplanting. What I got last year was very good.

This year will also be the first for the blueberries. I bought one bush last fall. I don't know if it will produce this year yet, however. It is a self polinating, so there is only one plant. I'd actually like to plant a variety of fruit trees in the side lawn, as I really don't use it.

So, I guess it is back to work for now. At least the sun is shining.

Back Again

Gee....guess I was gone for a while. I had to take a trip down to Florida, and ended up having to extend my stay due to getting hit hard with some allergies. I don't know what it was, as I'm not allergic to any pollens or dust or anything like that, so it remains a mystery.

While I was away, I went to the International Flower and Garden Show at Disney EPCOT. Topiaries were great and it was so nice to see plants and colour. In SW Florida, I did some weeding in my parent's vegetable garden. Their flowers were so colourful too. Key West was a blast, as always, and I would look around thinking to myself that a container garden could work great here and here and here........

Then it was back to the gloom and colourless landscape of New York in the winter. Now it is snowing. My guess it will be a late spring which doesn't make me happy one bit. Time to move, I think.

I had babysitters for my lemon tree and rosemary topiary, and they are both doing great. I may start some seeds in a few weeks and hope that I'm wrong about a late spring.  I saw some really nice container vegetable gardens at EPCOT. Some combinations that I would not have thought of, like a small banana tree with spinach and a few other veggies planted around it in a container, but it worked well. Looked nice too. I got a number of ideas. I was hoping that someone would be selling some seeds, but unless I missed something, no luck.

Well, I'll be back on regular once again. Enjoy!