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Sampling pure sap from first run. Yesterday we rushed home from work to tap the maples in our little sugar bush before dark. With a forecast of frosty nights in the teens and warm days well above freezing, it made no sense to wait. Clear sap nearly poured out of the taps the moment they were inserted into the [...] hoop house in last week’s snow storm Yesterday’s sun ignited temperatures close to 90 degrees in the hoop house. Soil is now fully thawed and the winter-weary plants are stretching out and starting to grow. It felt incredibly good to putter around, weeding,planting,watering in the sun without a jacket. With the long range forecast showing outdoor temps above freezing every day [...] Every spring arrives with our bodies having aged another year. Squatting,lifting, pulling,and all the movements needed for gardening differ from those for winter sports or chores and are always tough for bodies that spend a majority of the waking hours sitting at desks or in cars. The result —spring brings sore and aching muscles and even acute agony. [...] Holes pock-marking the garden beds. Centers nibbled out of precious winter lettuce heads. Healthy parsley plants suddenly flattened and limp,the deep tap roots completely vanished. Carrots eaten from the bottom up. Voles have suddenly become garden enemy #1! Don’t know if it’s our aging cat providing less effective varmint control,or if it was [...]
scarlet runner pole bean (growing with purple peacock beans) Going through the newly arrived seed packets,I see a good mix of both old friends and new acquaintances. This week I’ll plant Napoli carrots in the hoop house, a favorite for cold season sowing and sweet,early summer harvests. Inter-planted will be new comer,Easter Egg radish,apparently a [...] | ||||||
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