Gardens update

Well, things are definitely happening outdoors here!  :-)

The spinach, lettuce, beets, chard, peas and kale are growing well.  I let the asparagus go to seed again this year without harvesting (though I was very tempted), I will add soil to the bed and plan to harvest next year.  We are moving around the front "cold bed" to the side of the house and will fill that with flowers and bushes - to make room for the deck that we hope to build this year!

We are increasing our fruit trees.  We now have 2 apple, 2 peach, 2 fig, 2 kiwi, 75+ strawberry, 3 blueberry, 3 domestic blackberry, and a thriving rhubarb which I have already harvested 2 quarts from.  We plan to add 2 pear trees to the "orchard" this year.  I am very excited about these additions.  :-)

I am sad to report that I pretty much killed all our little seedlings.  It was just too busy a time to be trying to remember to turn lights on and off and water things daily.  I have a few living still, but many, many died a sad, dry, weak death.  :-(  I haven't taken tally of seeds yet, but may need to buy some plants to make up for the loss.  I do plan to put beans in the ground soon - but we had a frost warning last night again, so won't be doing squashes or tomatoes for a bit still.  I am waiting on hubby to go get the truckload of manure for me also, so most of the beds aren't quite ready yet.

On the flower side... right now the iris and wild violets are blooming, lilac is almost done, lilies are on their way.  There is 1 bud on a rose bush and many plants that have shoots and leaves and growth.  The peonies are looking good, hosta are full and lovely, coneflowers filling in, butterfly bush getting tall.  Love this time of year!

We have sooooo many projects that need doing this year.  Work has been very busy for hubby and it is way past dark when he gets home lately... so we'll see what really gets accomplished.  I'll report back again before too long.

New plantings and baby chickies!

We are adding to our fruit and flowering trees, and adding some color to the yard while we wait to be able to plant out the veggie garden.

Ordered from Arbor Day Foundation and planted last night:
2 Golden Jubilee Peach trees
1 Fragrant Lilac
2 Blue Hydrangea bushes
4 Bar Harbor Junipers
1 Orange Azalea
1 Red Maple Tree (free)
2 Forsythias (free)

I also purchased from Lowe's yesterday:
2 blueberry bushes
2 fig trees

We also dug up lots of baby forsythia bushes from under our bush at the corner of the house, so many in fact that we were able to line the back of the house with bushes - that will be pretty next spring!

We received our order of baby chicks yesterday also.  We ordered 25 hens (just a mix of brown egg layers) and they sent a free exotic chick also.  They are chirping away from their cage in the laundry room.  We need to work on adding to the chicken house and making an additional run for them.  They will be inside for a few weeks though.

A start!

Started seeds indoors today:

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Brussels Sprout
• Cabbage
• Bee Balm
• Chamomile
• Horehound
• Oregano
• Rosemary

I feel like I am so behind!  We went from snowstorms to spring overnight it seemed.  :-)  I also started my pea seeds soaking so that I can get them in the ground tomorrow.  I will likely start a lot more seeds this weekend, that way things can start growing even though the beds are not yet ready for them.

Spring walk around the yard

We noticed the below pictured items when we walked around the yard with the camera today.  We also saw that the lilies and tulips are popping up, the foxglove is growing, strawberry plants are getting new leaves (bed needs repaired), 5 of the 8 bushes we transplanted last fall have new growth, the parsley in the herb bed is growing, the sage is growing again, and there is some kale in the "cold bed" that is growing again!  There is lots of chicken and rabbit fertilizer to fill the beds with.  I need to plan how to move a couple of the beds from the large garden to the small garden and get the small garden fenced in.  We still haven't recovered the greenhouse, that and cleaning the chicken house and adding another run for the new chicks are a priority.

Iris shoot

Forsythia buds

Rhubarb new leaves

Blackberry bush new leaves (blurry)

Crocus blooms - finally took pics!

Crocus blooms peek out

First signs of spring here are always the crocus blooms next to the porch.  Today, we found the first ones - yellow and such a welcome sight as the snow finally melts away.  It has been a good, hard winter with lots of snow and cold.  I have enjoyed it (easy for me since I stay home much of the time), but am looking forward to spring - and this was a sweet reminder of what lies in store.  :-)

Beginning plans

I have sorted through my seeds and made my first lists, ordered a few more seeds.  I am getting itchy to start some plantings.  I am low on space indoors right now and our greenhouse plastic did not last the winter... so, hoping hubby will help me get that recovered soon.  In the meantime, I will likely start a few trays of early greens inside... I just can't wait to start growing again!  :-)

Here is what I am planning:

HAVE:
Sugar baby watermelon
Moon and Star watermelon
Big Max pumpkin
Early sweet sugar pie pumpkin
Amish muskmelon
Buttercup squash
Zucchini squash
Crookneck squash
Cayenne pepper
Bell pepper
Red cherry tomato
Amish paste tomato
Brandywine tomato
Yellow pear tomato
Aunt Ruby's German Green tomato
Green bush bean
Green pole bean
Pickling cucumber

SAVED/PERENNIAL:
potatoes
corn
garlic
onion
asparagus
strawberry
kiwi
apple
rhubarb
blackberry

ORDERED:
cabbage
lettuce mix
5 color chard
beets
carrots, danvers
broccoli
cauliflower
brussels
peas
spinach
parsley
basil
rosemary
bee balm
oregano
sage
dill
chamomile

NEED TO BUY:
stevia
cumin
male kiwi plant
spaghetti squash
butternut squash
acorn squash