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Spring Has Sprung!
My goodness, 2 months since my last post, tsk tsk tsk... Life has been a tad busy but now that I have a few moments and with Spring finally here I can share with you some things that have been going on.
Mother Nature has been very testy the last few weeks, just when we would have a nice day and start pulling our shorts and tank tops out we would get a frost. Following day would be beautiful then pouring rain, then frost, the sun...and so on.
Well now the sun is out the majority of the time, crazy humidity has hit, air conditioner has been installed and fleece sheets have FINALLY been removed from our bed!
After Victoria Day weekend is our "end of frost" and planting can begin, flowers, veggies, etc. My Dad has been sewing the fields and picking stones while my husband and I set up the fence to my vegetable garden and I got to work on that.
The farm is always beautiful, every season there is something I always look forward to. Spring calls for birds returning, greenery, flowers and much more.
Not only myself but the animals have been enjoying this warm weather. We had a busy robin who decided one nest wasn't enough and made a little condo development on the front porch of the farm house, sheep are enjoying the green grass and not just the hay from the winter, and my two dachshunds are loving everything, from rolling in the dirt (and sometimes manure) , chasing birds, digging and sunbathing.
It has been quite dry lately but finally Mother Nature decided to send us a few showers, good thing because my poor gardens were having a tough time being in the hot sun.
I already have flowers on my lavender and blossoms on my pepper plants. Gardening can be quite the task but so rewarding, seeing something you put so much work into to then give you something in return is the best. I already have my list of things to make when I get my "crop" in. Salsa, BBQ sauce, freeze beans and peas, I even planted herbs to make a "tea garden" and hope to dry them and make some delicious mixes, I think it would be a great idea for Christmas gifts to my tea lovers in the family and friend circle.
Some spring-time tips:
* If you want a long season of pansies make sure to pick them as often as you can and make yourself small bouquets, I put mine in a small glass at my kitchen sink to enjoy while doing my dishes. The smell of them remind me of a trunk my Grandmother Ethel had with arts and crafts in it for us when we would be there.
* Asparagus is not there one morning and a foot by the afternoon. Keep a good eye on them because you don't want to miss out one afternoon of picking and next morning they are too large and gone to seed. I store my asparagus in a tall glass with a bit of water in the bottom.
* Do your planting and watering early in the morning or late afternoon when the sun isn't as hot, both for yourself and your plants. I thought I had started early enough one morning but by my 6th plant I was too hot and decided to return later in the afternoon.
* Make a garden plan, research which plants do best next to each other and which you have to keep at opposite ends of a garden. This will also help you later on if you forget to label your plants determine which breed of tomatoes/peppers/cucumbers/etc you enjoyed or which ones didn't work out.
* We plant and grow food that is expensive in the off season, beans, asparagus (though we eat it too fast and too much to keep any and freeze), but mostly peppers and freeze to use in the winter months. Potatoes are always inexpensive, even though I did want to try them the first year which was fun, I decided to put my money towards the other items this year.
* If you hate weeding and/or don't have the time to weed your gardens look into the black fabric they sell at hardware stores that will keep weeds at bay. You simply roll out, cut an X into it, fold back, dig your hole and plant your plant. Our first year we put mulch over top of the fabric, the 2nd year we forgot to put anything over top and the sun slowly broke down the fabric and it ripped allowing weeds to come up, this year I will spread hay/straw over top, I think this will be the best for when we till it in the fall or following spring it will break down easier rather than the mulch/sawsdust/woodchips (I found they ended up drying the soil too much).
* Before heading out to the garden scrape your nails onto a bar of soap. This stops dirt from getting under your nails and makes a faster/easier clean up. I do this even when I wear garden gloves because I always seem to end up getting dirt all over me anyways.
* Gardening is a great way to work on a tan, but remember even with clouds you will burn so make sure to put on some sunscreen for protection.
* Hydrate. Water your plants AND yourself. Gardening can be a ton of work and add some heat and humidity you need to stay hydrated. I love keeping freezies or popsicles in the freezer, it's a nice treat from the heat and hard work.
* If you live in the country like I do and enjoy the deer, bunnies and other wild life but also love your garden, put up a proper fence. One year we did a garden without one and one morning we came back to plants only a few inches tall from the deer biting the tops off. It wasn't a very bountiful season lets say...
Enjoy your Spring!
