Somewhere Under There
I had to laugh when looked out the window last week, the trellis in the potager is almost covered.
Somewhere underneath all that snow are a few boxwood balls, stone edging, a few cloches over tiny lettuce plants…
After I took the top photo we received another foot of snow and it was snowing again last night with around 6 more inches forecasted. The top ring is no longer visibly and pretty soon my trellis will be completely covered with snow.
The wonderful thing about all this snow is that it’s providing a warm winter blanket to protect all my roses, hydrangeas, strawberries, and boxwood. As it melts it will provide nitrogen for the flush of spring growth. I’m not in any hurry for the snow to melt, I have so many books on my reading list thanks to all your recommendations yesterday!
What does your garden look like right now?
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Where Have You Been All My Life?
Last week I bought myself a little pruning saw. It’s nothing big, in fact, it’s super lightweight and slides easily into my back pocket. I have no idea how I have lived without one of these for the past 38 years. I got it from Amazon for those wondering. For some reason it won’t let me link directly to the page with this product. But search for Silky POCKETBOY Fine Teeth.
It cuts through large sapling, branches, small twigs and pretty much anything with great ease. I was blown away by how quickly it cut branches from the apple tree.
This will come in very handy because I’m planning on harvesting saplings that need thinned from an area out back. They will be used for garden supports of various shapes and sizes. I’m planning on making panels for my peas and tepees for my pole beans.
Several people were asking in the comments how long the blade was, so I snapped this photo so you can clearly see the size of the saw and blade when extended.
I also love that it comes with this handy plastic carrier. This tool will probably always be in my pocket when I’m working in the garden, I have no idea how I have made do without it up till now.
What’s a garden tool you would never want to live without? Have you discovered any new garden tools recently?
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Goals
I don’t make resolutions this time of year, but I do try to think about what I want to accomplish in the coming year. Usually I come up with one big project that will take a large amount of time and spend time planning out the steps for that project.
This year my goal is to clean and organize our ginormous garage. It will be a task that’s for sure. When we moved to Maine we hit the ground running and unfortunately the garage has been a bit of a mess since we unloaded the moving truck.
My goal for the year, mostly this summer when it’s warm, is to get all the junk in the garage organized. No doubt I’ll take a trip to the dump and a load or a few to Goodwill. Mostly, things just need organized into boxes and on shelves. Hooks need to go in he wall for hanging bits and bobs and everything needs a good cleaning. It’s one of those projects that I haven’t made the time for the past two year, but 2015 will be the year!
Did you set any goals for the coming year?
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Friday Favorite: New Garden Areas
There’s something exciting about new garden areas, even if they are only an extension of another garden area. For the past two years I’ve been mulling over my plan for the main garden back behind the garage. As I work I look at the surrounding areas, the lay of the land, the trees, etc. I plan out where access roads/paths will be, where hedges will be planted and where drainage ditches will need dug. All of these plans lay in the future, a few years down the line, but that doesn’t mean that I can start preparing. The garden in the back needs expanded quite a bit to make way for perennial borders, fences, and hedges. The pigs have helped greatly in tilling up the sod to make way for these new gardens. Now that they are finished with their work I set to work laying down cardboard with a this layer of compost.
In the spring they will be over seeded with various cover crops that will be mowed down for a weed smothering mulch. It’s a slow process, this garden will take more than a decade to become what I see in my mind. The slow, steady process of reaching that goal is fulfilling, and it helps me learn to be patient. There is such new promise in a new garden bed, one that has only grown sod. The possibilities are endless and that’s what I’m loving right now. I just need to remind myself that it’s a slow process, because admittedly it can be disheartening at times when you left behind a place that was just reaching it’s full potential and are starting all over again. I have to relish the newness and the possibilities!
Do you have plans to expand your gardens this coming year?
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The Last Harvest
Cold weather arrived before I was quite ready for it at least two months ago. My hopes of harvesting my leeks before the ground froze were dashed. But then we had a nice warmup this week. As a result I spent this weekend working in the garden.
I dug a mess of leeks that will be cleaning, chopped, cooked, and eaten. Luckily there are a few delicious recipes features in my copy of Tender. Most of them feature potatoes, which I have a root cellar full of so I’m in business.
Another recipe calls for Jerusalem Artichokes, which I also harvested a mess of yesterday. I’ve grown this vegetable for many years but I’ve never harvested many of them to eat. I just let them multiply and replant them since I started with only two tubers. They’ve grown into quite a nice little patch, I was amazed at how productive they are.
It’s no wonder many people keep a patch in the garden for insurance purposes in case the economy goes south. I’ve also heard that some folks keep a nice plot going to feed the pigs come fall. My pigs wouldn’t eat the tubers this year, but I’m guessing if they got hungry enough they would.
I’m certain this will be my last harvest of 2014, at least it should be. The weather is supposed to turn very cold this week and the ground should finally freeze. Hopefully I will be able to get out today to plant my elephant garlic so I can enjoy it’s beautiful blooms next summer!
Are you harvesting anything from your garden right now?
