an outdoor Easter dinner
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We’ve never had Easter dinner outside before. This warm weather is wonderful!
seedlings in the sun
All my seedlings are outside on the porch again this week. They are staying out night and day with this balmy weather. We are flipping back and forth from pouring to perfect weather. I am hoping to plant my early tomato seedlings outside in the garden soon using my new Wall-O-Waters. Its a busy weekend, but I hope to oi this soon. They are getting quite big. I planted lots more tomatoes last week and they have just come up.
sprouts in milk bottles
My winter sowing bottles suffered from the heavy rains. They ended up half full of water after the big storm and I forgot to check on them until a week later. I poked holes and drained them finally (I have to remember to do this before setting them out next year!). So far two bottles have lots of little sprouts. Since I have my new cold frame, I might as well open them up and put them in the frame.
asparagus shoots
Pretty little asparagus shoots are poking up! But so far only one of the 12 crowns is growing. I’ll keep watching. My asparagus bed is about 5 ft by 3 ft with 12 crowns planted last spring. Last summer the fronds grew to about 5 feet tall, nice and bushy. The bed is at the far north side of the garden plot, between the compost bin and a lilac bush, so they don’t shade anything.
bright yellow for April
Welcome April! Forsythia and daffodils are in full bloom now. Occasional splashes of bright yellow. And thank goodness for the clear blue sky and no rain in forecast for the coming week. Many puddles and high rivers in the area that need to dry up. March blew away all the records for Boston rain.
pea trellis??
I checked on my peas yesterday and they’re not up yet. I should put up a trellis soon. It works best to put it up when you plant the peas or very soon after sprouting. I haven’t decided what to use yet. After using 10 or 12 different trellis solutions, I have yet to find one that I really like. I have 3 types planted so far: 2 ft, 2 1/2 ft, and 3 ft vines. Any suggestions?
cold frame
My cold frame (planted with cold weather greens) is getting 10-20*F above outside temperature on sunny days, but falls to outside temperature without sun. Last night was very chilly – 29*. We covered it with a plastic tarp that covers up some of the open hinges where air can flow in and gives it an extra layer of insulation. At 30* outside right now, its 46* inside! The plants look cozy. I read that a cold frame is a good place for hardening off seedlings. I’ll give this a try…
today’s sowing list
(6 weeks before the last frost) Tomatoes:Cherokee Purple (Sand Hill)Mortgage Lifter (Ohio Heirloom)Sungold (Johnny’s)New Girl (Johnny’s)Purple Calabash (Sand Hill)Opalka (Reimer)San Marzano Gigante 3 (Territorial)Big Beef (Johnny’s)Brandywine (Johnny’s)Giant Belgium (Sand Hill)Tomango (Sand Hill)Oxheart Red (Sand Hill)Pink Beauty (Johnny’s)Orange Blossom (Johnny’s)Box Car Willie (Reimer) Cabbages and greens:Elegance Greens Mix (Johnny’s)Chinese Broccoli, Green Lance (Johnny’s)Cabbage, Dan’s surprise seed, Baby Bok ChoyCabbage, Wong Bok (Botanical Interests)Cabbage, Super Red (Johnny’s)Cabbage, Savoy Alcosa (Johnny’s)Radicchio, Palla Rossa Ashalim (Botanical Interests)
This is a journal of my vegetable gardens. Skippy thinks the garden is his, even though I do all the work. We're located near Boston, in USDA zone 6. I have bees, chickens, fruit trees and berry bushes, too. I use all sustainable organic methods and strive to grow all of my family's vegetables myself. -Kathy
weeks and counting until my last spring frost
My garden this week
Skippy’s vegetable of the month – Egyptian walking onions!
