Happy Spring

The rhubarb is ready to become a co-star in a batch of Strawberry Rhubarb wine, the asparagus has been delicious and there is the scent of freshly picked lilacs in the house. Just three of many reasons to love spring. Now back to the garden. Hope it is a happy spring in your neck of the woods as well!

A taste of summer

I love to snuggle in on a cold, snowy night in front of a fire and dream of spring. Usually a few gardening catalogs help me get into the spirit. However, this taste of summer helps too. Pictured are corn, hot peppers and potatoes from last summers garden. The corn and peppers (as you can tell) have been hanging out in the freezer. The potatoes are from the root cellar (also known as our barely heated basement). They will make a tasty warm treat. I boil the seeded peppers with chicken stock (enough to cover) until the peppers are soft. Blend and add corn (off the cob) and diced cooked potatoes. I add a bit of cream, sour cream or yogurt. It is fun to have a "garden fresh" soup in February. I love it "as is" but add a little potato starch to thicken it for my husband.

Now turning to dreams of spring planting. I want at least two pepper varieties this year. It's a tough decision and Pepper Joe's catalog is not helping. I want them all!

I know I will grow a "black" tomato variety. I love their rich, tangy flavor. I have my eyes on black krim (from Penny's Tomatoes) but there are so many I would love to try.
Any pepper, tomato or potato variety suggestions appreciated. What are your favorites?

80 degrees on April 1st. No fooling.

I couldn't wait to head out to the garden after work. It's hard to resist the urge to get planting but I know that colder days will probably be ahead. However, it sure was fun to get out and play in the dirt. We got a lot done and enjoyed the evening. Now dear hubby heads off to work while I get some tomato seeds started. I settled for "only" four varieties this year. Well it's back to the basement garden station where we have the lights set up for seed starting. Happy planting!

Spring?

Last week we enjoyed temps in the 60's and watched our snow disappear. It is colder now but the lack of snow has been nice. I've been out in the garden cleaning things up and getting the raised beds ready. I'll start the pepper and ground cherry plants indoors this weekend. This afternoon I enjoyed a trek out back looking over the gardens. I'll have to get my bike ready and continue my quest for more:

Signs of spring?


Happy Spring!

Spring!

What a difference a few hours makes. I worked the night shift, went for a snowy bike ride this morning then went to sleep. I woke this afternoon to SPRING, or at least what passes for spring here. I went for another short ride. It just feels great to be back to outdoor riding. The picture was taken with the nearby Chippewa River in the background. Not even a hint of snow was left on the ground. I also made it out to the gardens to continue preparing the raised beds and listen to the birds singing. A good day!

Spring?

Just another beautiful spring day. Looks like a great time for a bike ride! Maybe I better bring out the mountain bike tires again. I thought I could retire them for the season. Well at least the snow is likely to be gone by later today. That is the best thing about spring snows.

After a short ride, it's nice to head down to the basement to check on the seed starting projects. The dill, parsley and basal look great. It is still about 5 weeks til our last frost date but it is nice to see some green. I hope things are a little more springlike in your neck of the woods!

Garden Therapy

Temperatures are in the mid 40's this morning and the sun is shining bright. I had no choice but to do a little work in the garden today! It was so relaxing to be out there again. It's way too early to plant but a good time to start cleaning things up. I will have at least 10 raised beds to work with this year and I'm really looking forward to it. We have a relatively small space but are trying to grow as much as possible in it.

So far the raised bed tally is:

(2) 4 X 8 beds
(6) 4 X 4 beds
(2) 3 X 8 beds

Still to come this year or next:

(2) 4 X 4 beds

(2) 4 X 8 beds