It's April 19th in NE Wisconsin.

8-10" of snow.  Aren't we supposed to be planting?

Hopefully we can make it to work tomorrow.

Time to plant garlic

On Saturday (10/16) we planted 75 hard neck garlic (3 varieties).  The bed had already been double dug, a healthy dose of 2 year old compost applied, and the requisite organic fertilizer applied.  It was a quick mix with the Mantis tiller (yes, I really like my little tiller) to get a seed bed that was perfect for planting. Raked the top level and layed out the marker lines.  Five 8' rows with 15 cloves to a row.  My actual planting was 3 rows, 4 rows, and 8 rows of three different varieties.  Punched them in by hand, gave them a quick shot fish emulsion and then finished back filling and tamping.

I also took the opportunity to plant 5 allium bulbs that needed to be moved.  I got these into the big rose bed in back, knowing that they will be a good addition to the bed.  Good moisture and good soil tilth, even after this weird growing season we've had.

We also picked the last of the randomly growing acorn squash.  We got 6 nice squash from a random plant that grew next to an old wood pile.  Don't know why, but it was.

Turned under 2 more beds, the tomato and bean beds.  I am afraid that winter just around the corner.

Still have kale, brussel sprouts, broccoli, lettuce and peas growing.  I suspect that barring a really hard frost, we will be well into November.

Be safe, I will try and get some pictures posted.

Bill

Another sneak attack at summer

Greetings from what was a warm Friday at the end of April in Wisconsin.

Yesterday we got to the high 70's after a rough start to the day which brought out some gloomy skies, gusty winds, and a blustery cold shower. As the day progressed the yellow orb continued to share with us poor earthlings. I could feel the itch all day that it was time to plant some more.

Finished my work day and the call of the local garden center was loud and clear. The truck didn't want to go home, rather to see what new specimens were there waiting to go into the vegetable garden. Picked up 3 3-packs (Premium Crop broccoli, Early Snowball cauliflower, and Georgia collards. Had to hunt around a little bit to find just the ones I was looking for, you know the ones, good growth but not the older plants. The garden center guy reminded me that it really was too early to be planting as we might have snow yet. I just didn't have the heart to tell him that I was already ahead of him by almost a week.

The soil was cool, slightly damp but still very friable. Got all of the plants in, taking the time to make sure they sat a little deeper into the planting holes. This will allow for a more focused water effect and based on past results, a stronger plant as the roots go deeper. Moved the covered fencing on to the new plants. This should protect them from any hard rains that we would get.

A light cultivation for the plants we put in last week. More so to keep the crusty soil in check but also to smooth the planting bed a little.

Took a hard look at the greens and pea planting from 2 weeks ago. We have had some rather cool and damp weather in that time, even some measurable snow. Yes, we have lettuce, spinach and beets breaking the surface. I was a little concerned about the peas, but a little digging quickly sent me to covering the sprouted seeds back up. Trust, good soil not overworked, amended with the right amount of organic matter will deliver. Trust.

The planting continued. Given that we were at the two week planting window, it was time to put more greens and peas into the bed. So...... another row of spinach, beets, and lettuce and 2 double rows of peas. I did take the time to make sure I finger-poked the peas in rather than digging out a trench.

Curious was the nature of my mind. Was the asparagus growing? The answer was yes and no. Yes, I did find some of the nice white shoots started. However, they were buried under the leaf mulch and still very cool. Need to leave the mulch on for at least another 2 weeks. Then we'll make a decision to take off or just let asparagus push its way through.

My wonderful wife reminded me that it was Friday, it was the end of the work week and it was starting to get dark. Given that appropriate prodding, I grilled up some thick cut pork loin chops, fresh asparagus (from the store), and a sweet onion. I am so glad that spring/summer/not winter is here. The time spent outside makes the food that much better.

It's now Saturday morning and it is raining. You know, cold to the bone rain. It is supposed to last until Sunday night. No snow, but a good rain. We do need it, but it could be a little warmer.

Next weekend is set for a quick dash to Minnesota to deliver some furniture and household stuff for our college kids. Its also an off week on the planting schedule. Weather for the next week is predicted to be in the mid-50's for the highs with lows in high 30's. Hopefully we will be able to start drying out.

Sorry there weren't any pictures. Time got short.

Stay dry.
Bill

Well we had our December thaw...

Our thaw was short and to the point. We had two days of 40+ temps and a lot of the snow melted. Oh, did I forget to say that we also had almost an inch of rain. Oh well, my roof was raked and most of the snow melted. Can't say the same for the neighbors. They have a large ice block on their roof now.

We had another 3" of snow last night with more expected on Tuesday and Thursday. December was a record with over 40" of snow. It is going to be quite a winter.

Stay warm.
Bill

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....

You might think this is going to be about snow. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Just got back from Hawaii. Thought I would tantalize you with a little shot of heaven. This is the sunset from the north shore of Oahu. We saw a great day of surfing at the Bonzai Pipeline and spent the time watching the sun go down. What a sight to see.

To put this in perspective, the temps were in the 80's with a heavy dose of sunshine. If it did rain, it was not for more than 5 minutes and then the sun came right back out.

We left the cold and the snow in Wisconsin. The change of weather was great, but as the week wore on, it was a good thing to remember that home was where it was and Hawaii was vacation. The airlines ran great, O'Hare was tolerable, and we did see 3 deer playing in the snow in the front yard when we drove in the driveway on Friday morning at 0315.

Welcome home.

Winter is starting to get here......

Cold today, quite a change from the balance of the week. Hard to believe that we had over 70 for a high and now we are struggling to get over 40 for a high, all in the same week. Snow showers have deposited a hint of white on the roof and lawn, but by mid afternoon it will all be gone.

Still have brussel sprouts to harvest this year. All in all,we have had better results from the garden. Hopefully we will have more next year.

Went Denny Crain (Boston Legal) this week. For those of you that know me, quite a shift in politics, but what the real issue called for was change. Time will tell.