What have you done today in the Garden?

Today and tomorrow I'm potting up artichokes. ( I don't know what on earth made me plant 12....I didn't think they would all make it perhaps). I may have to choose favourites and give a couple away...maybe a few. or six.... I'll be retiring the winter indoor lettuce garden to make room for everyone.

Tomatoes are up - all but one variety. It was old seed so that's okay. It tells me it's time to retire that package.

I'm hoping tomorrow to get the tractor/ front end loader out of the barn to move the snow away from the green house. Then I will be able to plant spinach in the greenhouse. I tried to do my usual winter sowing before the ground froze, and it would come up as soon as the sun hit the soil in the spring. Unfortunately, a couple of chipmunks thought it was a buffet. Still -10 at night so there is time, but it so good to see the sun and see it higher in the sky.

 

Today’s garden work was to tidy-up the grass path edges. The first one shows the before (actually I was half done with the one left side.


Then when these two stretches of path were done, it was picture time.


Much tidier now don’t ya think..

 

Separated the chive starts out and all the steakhouse tomatoes are up and uncovered. Peppers are slow as cold molasses.

 

Today I planted the first batch of onion seedlings in their raised bed. I had left the plants outside last week during a freeze, and they were unscathed. I think they will be happier in garden soil where they have room to spread their roots.

I also planted some of the Echinacea and Coreopsis seedlings in groups in the wildflower border. Now they can spread their roots too. I noticed the Rudbeckia seedlings I planted there look healthier now than the ones that are still in six packs.

I saw two snap pea seedlings emerged from the soil.

 

@Sjoerd, nice job! When you finish those, I have some paths that could use your touch

@Dirtmechanic, you are on your way to a nice garden. Which peppers? I find Serranos and Jalapeño are a little slower than tomatoes, Thai and Tabascos are a lot slower. So are banana peppers.

My little Jalapeños and Serranos had some white fly. I sprayed with Neem. Now the leaves look sunburned.

 

The usual sweet suspects, bell, tangerine and banana peppers. Then a group of chiles like the pablano, new mexican and n.m. hatch. I got some dried seed out of some mirasol, maybe they grow? Some hotties like mexican jellybean and always a cowhorn for fried blackeyed peas bollos style. Nothing super super hot though. If its hotter than 1 pepper for a pot of soup or chili thats more a sauce thing and we do not really do sauces like that for preservation.

 

Ha, ha... Ta. Well, after checking-out my musculature this morning, I can see why you say that, Daniël. The Bride and I are both stiff this today. Its the first real sign of spring.

 

Today I built the first long side of the "new" raised bed / large container box. It went OK. Since it is 3.5 x 8 feet and two of the corners are done, it's about 1/3 done.

I'm almost out of raised bed space, so extra will be used quickly.

Next I need to figure out the drip irrigation. It's hard spending every day hauling hoses around. I don't expect the summer to be either wetter or less hot than last year.

Thyme seeds germinated in two days. Amazing!

I'm doing germination testing for field corn / Indian corn seeds. They are two or three years old. Sweetcorn seeds won't last that long but I don't know about flint corn. Chicken food price was up 30% higher! I will grow more sunflowers and see if we can grow other grains, flint corn, sorghum, millet, to offset some of the increase

 

Nothing today it's too cold with the wind from the south east. But I haven't got anything that really needs doing.

 

We have another chilly, damp day, so we are doing some indoor gardening. The basil and marjoram have germinated and will go under grow lights. The parsley and thyme are still "underground" so they will stay on the heat mat and under the dome. Every once in a while I go get a whiff of damp soil and dream of days to come . . . .

 

HaHa "Seed Check" has become a morning routine here too! I noticed two peppers that are early risers this morning!

 

Just a bit of tidying up.
I also cleaned both bird baths. That's always a pain as I take the tops off and scrub them out under a tap. They are very heavy.
However, when I put them back I had a couple of spare large green plastic saucers the diameter about the same as the inner measurement of the baths. So I put them in. They'll stay cleaner and it'll be just a case of taking them out now and again to give them a wash out.

 

Always so relaxing to see your garden!

 

I bet your thyme will be up fast. Mine took one to two days. My basil and oregano are up. I shouldn't have planted fennel yet - growing too fast.

Raining here too. My early tomato plants are emerging. Those are mostly dwarf varieties. I figured they would be easier to grow until they are ready for their final locations.

 

Sowed some more calendula and cosmos.