Seeding Poppies
Poppies need a bit of a cold spell to germinate, they can be planted in fall, or they can be spread in the spring when you will still have some cold weather. I’ve even read that some people recommend sprinkling the seed on top of the snow so that they get a good dose of cold. I can’t wait to see these beauties bloom!
Yesterday was a lovely day, sunny with a high of almost 50. I wanted to do a few garden chores, but the soil is still mostly frozen and where it is thawed it’s a sticky mess. So, I cleaned up a few things here and there and broadcast a few types of seeds that don’t mind a dose of cold or things that won’t suffer from it. Arugula, cilantro, beets, spinach, lettuce, etc. are all seeds that can be sown as soon as the top layer of soil is thawed. They won’t germinate right away, but they will germinate when the soil temperature is right for them. It’s a great task to do when the soil isn’t workable yet, but you want to get out and get something done.
What did you plant this weekend?
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Showing Her Age
The old red truck is showing her age. She’s our plow truck, in fact she’s been plowing this driveway for many, many years. With our last snow storm, the 49 year old engine mounts gave out.
She’s not down for the count, parts are on order and a plan is in place. It’s amazing to have a vehicle that’s 10 years older than me still working hard around the farm.
With tender loving care and a little luck, she’ll be able to keep on trucking for years to come! Even though our other vehicles are also getting old, she makes them all look like spring chickens.
How old is your oldest vehicle?
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Friday Favorite: Snow
After being in the mid-fifties on Thursday, we woke up to snow covering the ground and a forecast of 3-6″ to fall during the day.
While I do love spring and appreciate it, I enjoy winter as well. Snow is vital to our gardens, it provide nitrogen and moisture for spring plantings. It protects our perennials with an insulating blanket. We will still get more snow in the weeks to come, winter isn’t even close to being over. I’m certainly going to relish these last few weeks of winter and hopefully will be able to get in a lot of snowshowing!
Do you get snow in your garden? When do you typically get your last snow?
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A Nice Window
It’s been a little warm here the past few days, our blanket of snow has melted and the ground can be worked. It’s the perfect time to broadcast a few seeds for cold tolerant varieties like arugula, cilantro, mustard, and a few other things. Winter will return, in fact we’re supposed to get snow tomorrow and next week it will once again be in the single digits. These seeds don’t care, they will wait and spring forth when they’re ready.
They won’t germinate as quickly as they do when the soil is warmer, but they’ll germinate when the conditions are right and I’ll have a much earlier crop that I would have if I had waited.
I’m also going to be seeding a flat of lettuce, which is something I do every year. I find that having a flat of greens ready to go into the ground in spring gives me a jump on the season and has me harvesting greens for my table at least a month if not 6 weeks before direct seeded crops. I love having things ready to plant as soon as the ground is ready. This winter has been fairly mild, which means my overwintered spinach is thriving and should start growing as soon as conditions improve in a month or so.
What are you doing in the garden this weekend?
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Recommendations?
This coming spring/summer I plan on adding raspberry beds to the garden. As I was looking through the Nourse Farms catalog last night, I got to thinking that perhaps you guys might have some recommendations for raspberries with great flavor and great yield. When it comes to soft fruits, sometimes the fruit can be amazing and sometimes simply OK. I have found that we like ‘Sparkle’ strawberries the best and really don’t like our ‘Seascape’ overbearing plants. They will also be replaced next spring with ‘Mara des Bois’ which have been recommended to me by a few people.
So, do you have any recommendations for soft fruit varieties that you love? I’m particularly interested in raspberries, but I’ll take recommendations for blueberries, strawberries, and any other type of soft fruit.
