Happy Mother's Day - Spring may actually be here.

Took advantage of the break in the wet / cold weather to tackle the garden tasks at hand.  Primarily, we have been waiting on the soil to dry out in order to plant some of the cool season seeds (spinach, swiss chard, and beets).  Given that it stayed relatively dry over the past few days and the sun decided to shine, I was able to do a little work on Saturday to break open the soil.  On Sunday, I was able to get the Mantis tiller out and work 4 beds into somewhat reasonable shape for planting.

#8, #5, #9, and #13 all got worked.  #9 was planted with Sugar Snap peas, after I got up the trellis for the new plants to hang themselves on.  I also planted 3 blocks of spinach, beets, and swiss chard along with 3 blocks of Speedy green beans.  I know that it is probably a little bit early for the beans, but they do taste good.  I also stuck a number of radish rows into the planting.

I did finish weeding the asparagus beds (#1-#4).  It seems the work was just in time as I have a meal of asparagus almost ready for picking.

The raspberries are slow due to the wet and cold.  I am very concerned about the purple raspberries coming back after a very, very rough wet summer last year.  Some of the red raspberries have broken dormancy, but I have not been able to find any signs from the purple.  Time will tell.

The inside seedlings continue to make progress.  I probably will have a couple of potted candidates to take outside, sometime this week.  Kale, broccoli, and brussel sprouts make up the base of most of the plantings.

Hoping we don't get deluged this week.  It would be good to get at least another one or two beds ready to go.

Remember, the NAS Heirloom Plant Sale at UWGB is this Saturday at 9 am.  They start handing out numbers at 7am.

Have a good week.

Bill

A week after Easter and it still feels like it could snow

With the cold and wet weather continuing, I took the opportunity to plant some spinach and swiss chard inside.  It will give me a leg up once it gets dry enough to work in the garden beds.  The onions are still very slow, and probably quite cold.  Once the weather warms, they should shoot right up.

The garlic is doing well after an application of bone meal.

We had some very wet weather last year and I was afraid my raspberry patch was a memory.  Today, I got in and cleaned them out.  For the most part, I was pleasantly pleased.  I saw good regrowth on all 4 varieties.  The primocanes from last year showed enough life to be optimistic about the potential for a crop this year.  Time will tell.

Next week is Mother's Day.  Make sure you plant something for your Mom.

A note of reminder.  May 14 9:00 am will be the annual heirloom plant sale at the UWGB NAS.  I know that I will be there early.

Be good and be safe.  We'll talk next week.

Bill