Happy May Day!
Our male mallards are on the pond while their sweeties sit on their nests.
Flowers are blooming, hosta has made it’s way out of the ground and it looks like I have a new maple tree growing in my tulip patch.
… all good signs of spring!
Michael cleaned out our perennial beds and they are bursting with new life. I have to give him all of the credit for this task because he just does it.
I’m always watching and waiting for my slithery friends at this time of the year so I tend to procrastinate and step lightly. He dives right in and finishes before I get my shoes on!
The rhubarb is making a nice snake shelter. As long as they stay under there we’ll be just fine.
We have a little row of spinach coming along..
Yes, there are rocks but that’s okay.
I keep pulling them out, one rock at a time…. for the rest of my life.
These peas took a few weeks to germinate and I was a little worried, but now they’re going to climb!
The first crop of lettuce is almost ready to eat. It’s time to plant some more.
And what do we have here?
NOTHING, my friends… the kale must have been plucked away by the birds because it’s gone, and the onions haven’t sprouted yet. Sometimes onions take awhile or don’t grow at all.
Most bloggers wouldn’t show you this picture, but I want you to see that it happens to everyone and it’s okay!
Half of the fun of gardening is the surprise of it all!
I have to admit that the asparagus kind of makes up for it. This will be dinner tonight.
I’ve been researching our options for replacing this wood and we’re still undecided about what to use. The denser woods like cedar and juniper are very expensive and the softer woods like pine won’t last too long. We don’t want to use pressure treated because the chemicals from the treatment process leach into the soil. I’m reading about composite wood and alternative methods of pressure treating too. I’ll keep you posted, in fact, this topic could be a post!
Heading inside; the tomato seedlings are cranking away! I’ve been moving these lights up an inch every few days. You’ll notice that I keep the lights just above the plants to keep them from from getting tall and thin. A compact plant will be strong and hearty when it’s planted in the garden.
I’m excited about planting these hollyhocks outside. Some of them will be right outside of the chicken coop door, and some will be near the archway.
The peppers are ready to spend some time outside hardening off.
This coleus is for the deck. I’m wondering if it’s going to grow quickly enough to be ready by the end of the month. I’ll save lots of money if I have the patience to let it grow without buying any.
This parsley is just for the fun of it. I’ll sow some parsley seeds right in the garden too, but it’s nice to have a little jump on it. We love our parsley.
I’m going to start cucumbers, basils and squash this week. I like to wait on those because they get too leggy if I plant them earlier. As I move some of the earlier seedlings out from under the lights I’ll make space for new things to come.
Seedlings are so much fun!!
If you haven’t started any yet, think about planting some cucumbers or zucchini. You might even be able to sneak a few pots of tomato seeds in. It’s okay if things are a week or two behind the “recommended” time frames for planting.
As I close I’d like to thank so many of you for reading my “I Was Stuck” post last week and for your many words of love and encouragement. I’m always amazed that people read my “all about me” posts more than the garden related ones. I need to think about ways to balance that, or put more of myself in the garden posts.
If you have any thoughts or comments, please comment in the comment section just below. I love the facebook conversations, but this community would GROW if the facebook comments were posted here, so don’t be afraid, just do it!
Happy Sunday, Happy May Day, Happy SPRING!
Enjoy Everything!
Love, Michele
That’s chocolate mint snaking it’s way in. I’ll need to keep up with the mint or it will completely overtake everything.
Down in the garden, we have lettuce coming up! I planted it a couple of weeks ago and I’ve been covering it with the plexiglass on the really cold days. This may be the earliest lettuce crop we’ve ever had.
The garlic is very green and vibrant. I didn’t mulch with those pine chips, my dear husband did because I kept meaning to get some straw to mulch with and it didn’t quite happen. I think it’s okay, but I’m going to remove it asap because I’m not sure that the acid from the pine is good for garlic. Winnie is wondering about that too…
… and the girls are keeping an eye on him from a nice safe place.
The delphiniums that I planted last summer came back! I wasn’t sure that that would happen, but they must like this spot in front of the fence. I’ve read that they prefer shelter from the afternoon sun.
Today was my first peek of primrose from Mom’s yard. I love these plants.
And inside, the peppers were planted yesterday. They’re on a heat mat and covered with saran wrap until they germinate to create a little greenhouse. Fingers crossed for good seedlings!
And here are the onions. As you can see I had a good germination rate with the candy and Spanish onions, but not so with the Southport Red Globe. If five seeds hadn’t germinated I would be thinking that maybe they just take longer, but this looks like a lost effort. It’s getting late, so I’ll probably buy sets of red onions for this year.
The Salem Garden 