spring

Spring Has Begun

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unnamedFor those of us now anxiously waiting for spring yesterday was not what we needed to see.  It snowed, it snowed like crazy.  Those torrential downpours you see in the summer?  Yeah, that’s what happened here only snow.  Six inches in less than three hours.  We just cleared away four or five in our yard on Sunday.  I’m just tired.  And cold.

This morning the sun was shining brightly, it was 18 degrees.  I opened the door to take Chester out for his walk and the first thing I noticed was birdsong.  Not just any birdsong but spring birdsong.  Robins, woodpeckers, chickadees all singing their spring twitterpated songs.  A robin was sitting on a branch of the cherry, a flicker was chipping away at an old maple in the backyard, cardinals were fighting over territory (there’s nothing more beautiful than cardinals in the snow).  Chickadees were singing their spring phoebe song.  Sigh, they know.  Even though there’s over two feet of snow in my yard today and most of the tree limbs are covered just hearing them makes me smile and think warm thoughts.

Time to stop listening to all of the bad weather hype and listen to the birds in your backyard, they’re telling you that spring is just about here.

130606 New Garden

Fruit

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130615 BlueberriesThe rain has stopped – for now.  In doing my morning walk about I noticed how well the fruit on the property was doing.  The blueberry bushes are loaded this year, last year I didn’t get a single berry.  It warmed up to abnormal temperatures in February 1012.  A week or more of 70’s and 80’s fooled every early flowering plant, tree and shrub into thinking spring had arrived early.  The temperature then dropped to below freezing (where it should be that time of year) and froze every blossom on the fruiting trees and shrubs.  It also completely messed up our sugaring season.  In 2011 we made well over 100 gallons of maple syrup, in 2012 maybe 30. Our pear tree had 3 pears, the deer ate two and my sister picked the last one.

Losing your entire fruit crop is distressing in many ways.  You’ve already made plans for what you are going to put up based on previous years and suddenly you realize there will not be any fruit of any kind.  This year the pear tree is loaded once again and I’m making plans for what to do with the hundreds that will be available (barring any extreme weather event from now until frost).  I often wonder about people who plant 5 or 6 of a kind of fruit tree.  This one tree, in a good year, produces enough for a few families to eat fresh and preserve. I find that at times it has really stressed me out because I feel like I’m wasting good food by not putting more up but honestly you can only do so much.  The deer eat the drops and the ones hanging from the lower branches. I try to give them away.

I have to say that one of the favorite games for the dogs involves that pear tree.  When the fruit starts to drop onto the ground we go down to the tree and I toss the pears as far as I can in rapid succession in different directions.  Buddy will chase a couple, then settle down to eat one.  Sophie will run after one, tag it and run back.  Chester will fetch them all day long, every so often taking a bite out of it but always bringing it back and dropping it at my feet.  The only problem is he likes the game so much that he continually goes out in the field and brings pears up to the driveway and the lawn.  A lot of fun when you’re mowing the grass.

130615 PearFruit is always a long term endeavor.  I planted a row of raspberry plants that Carmen had given me last year.  I got a couple of berries in July (I probably would have picked more but caught Chester picking them, apparently he finds them tasty as well).  This year the patch is twice as large – raspberries propagate readily sending shoots up all over the place once the plants get going.  I will probably have enough berries for a couple of pies and maybe a small batch of jam.  I transplanted more canes this spring doubling the number I had.  I’m looking forward to a crop large enough to put up for the winter.  Now that I can see the potential for this patch of fruit I’m happy that I did it.

Growing these types of long term crops can be a difficult decision to make.  You always have to create a new bed for them and put it in a place that you know will be dedicated to that fruit.  Trees are the same way and even longer term considering how slowly they grow and the years it can take before they bear fruit.  Once that tree is planted it has to stay there, that’s a commitment.  I planted a bed of asparagus this year at the end of my vegetable garden knowing full well that it will effect how I till for years to come.  I will not be able to eat anything from this bed for another two years but once it’s going I could potentially have a healthy asparagus crop for another thirty.  I’ll take that and leave it to my kids.

 

 

When the Weather is Bad

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Garden in August 2009

 

A couple of weeks ago I was reading the blogs of young farmers across Ohio, New York and Vermont lamenting the loss of their crops due to an unexpected frost.  They had started all of their long growth veggie plants indoors, nurtured them, fussed over them, dreamed about their potential.  The weather warmed a couple of weeks early and in the eagerness that befalls us all when we think spring is here they transplanted everything into their newly tilled beds.  They were watered in, possibly staked up, fussed over some more.  The following week we had 3 days of below freezing weather – all of their sprouts were lost.  That’s a true hit for a small farmer.  You try to do everything right, avoid starts coming in from some other state or parts unknown.  You want to know how they were cared for, no one will love your little plants the way you do.

A similar thing is happening to me right now.  We’ve had very rainy, cold weather for the past week and a half.  Yes, right after I transplanted my starts and put my seeds in the ground.  I waited, I always do.  The official Memorial Day weekend this year fell on May 25 and 26 this year.  Too early to plant I said to myself, I’ve been burned before and the soil temp wasn’t high enough to germinate seeds.  I waited another week.  The weather wasn’t great but between a couple of rainy afternoons I got everything into the ground.  The following week was hot as blazes, it felt like late July.  Things were looking good.  The waiting is the most difficult for me.

It turned fairly cool a little over a week ago and it’s been raining a lot.  The sump for the cellar was running non stop last night as it does when the water table is extremely high – not a good sign.  I woke up this morning to a temperature of 48 degrees.  The rain had stopped right before dawn and I walked the garden with the dogs.  Beans and corn are up for the most part, rhutabagas as well.  Radishes, onions and all of the tomatoes look okay for now.  No potatoes yet which isn’t what I’d like to see and the Long Pie Pumpkins will probably have to be replanted.  I take heart in the fact that it’s still early enough to get a harvest from those things I have to replant but I’m also just waiting for signs of blight on my tomatoes, they’d rather have it sunny and warm you understand.

If I had to survive on the things I grow myself I would be scared right now.  There are so many crop issues that this weather has effected.  Things are slow to grow.  The fields are so wet that haying will have to wait (with a little prayer that it won’t rain like this for a while). Some times it’s difficult to put yourself into the shoes of your ancestors, so many of mine were farmers.  How must they have felt has they stood in the middle of their corn field with the plants 2 to 3 inches tall and fully a third of said field under water?  We take for granted that someone else is growing our food for us, they are the ones taking the risks.  We complain if the price of things go up or if fresh veggies are more difficult to come by but think about if food production was your whole life.

I’m convinced the day will come when a very large percentage of what I eat I will have to grow myself or in cooperation with my neighbors.  I garden because I love it but I also know that you can’t just decide one year that you are going to grow your own food.  In New England (and probably everywhere else) each growing season is different.  Every year I learn something new because I have to deal with some problem from the weather or pests.  You learn, you grow, you change.  The variety of food I grow is different from what I grew 10 years ago.  Part of that is that my garden has expanded over the years, part of it is there are things that just don’t do well in my particular spot.  Each year I try something new to see how it goes.  There are winners and losers.  I’m hoping that things warm up and dry out a little now or we will see what really survives in an adverse weather year. I’m also praying for a little more patience, things have a way of working out.

When A Plan Comes Together

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130527 TillerAs most people know the holiday weekend began rainy and very cold for this time of the year.  When the sun came over the horizon on Monday morning I immediately got up, had coffee, dressed and went out to the garden.  I felt like I now had one day to do what I had planned on doing in three.  I spent the first couple of hours spreading fertilizer and tilling.  The photo above is what I looked at for quite a while.  I have to say in spite of the noise it’s quite meditative, especially walking behind it in the soft, tilled earth (smells great too).

The next chore was planting my asparagus (finally).  I was using bone meal and had to keep careful watch of the new bed – Chester thinks it smells heavenly and is sure if he digs something fantastic will come up.

I then got out my fence posts and paced off my garden design.  I put the teepee up in the center of the plot.  Then I divided up either end of the garden into the spaces I was planning for crops I would be planting.  I planted onions – red and yellow – on the north end along with the start of the tomatoes with the ones that Bill had bought from the flower gypsy.  I raked the soil for the four corners in the center where the corn will go and realized that I had a lot more space for other plants so made the decision to plant hills of squash and long pie pumkins.  So in essence it will be 3 sisters planting but in a more mannerly fashion.

I also planted the four pepper plants that Bill brought home next to the garage wall with the garlic.  There was space and it’s a nice warm, sunny spot, I thought they’d be happy there.

Later, while mowing some of my sister’s field (her mower broke last week), I saw her out planting her seeds and I have to tell you that my head was screaming “Go back and plant those seeds!” It’s May 27th though and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve planted things too early pushed by warm weather and sunshine.  The urge to plant something when it starts to warm up is powerful.  I remembered how many times I’ve had to replant things (2 and 3 times) because I was impatient and planted too early.  My seed will go in this coming weekend in what portends to be blistering heat and humidity but I’ll know the soil is warm enough.

With the lawn mowed and the garden structure there I took a couple of photos and thought about how nice it is when a plan comes together.  This is going to be a great garden.

130527 Garden

 

Beginning in Earnest

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130526 (2) Garden PlanYesterday in the cold, rainy, windy weather I went through my seeds and actually drew up the garden plan.  It had been in my head for  a while just finally put pen to paper.  Today I plant the crowns and bulbs, put up the bean teepee and get out the seed potatoes.  Last night it was cold by any standard but the forecast for the rest of the week is warm and sunny.  By the 31st I should be able to put my seeds in the ground if the forecast holds true.  All of my seed comes from High Mowing Seeds in Vermont.  They are organic, non-GMO and many are open pollinated.  Honestly the best seed I have ever used.

I had taken all of my annuals in pots into the shed on Friday night, this morning I will go see how my lonely little eggplant fared. I will be mixing beans on the poles this year, I’ve planted just a green bean in the past couple of years but I really have missed the scarlet runners – and I’m assuming so have the birds.  I will also plant sunflowers in the corners with the popcorn.  I’m kind of taking for granted the popcorn will end up being fodder for raccoons but you never know.  This variety is Tom Thumb and only grows to a maximum height of 3 feet, I’m more than a little excited about this experiment.

We have a guy in Enfield we refer to as the flower gypsy.  He’s a wholesaler who has a van and goes from shop to shop selling cut flowers – this time of year annual pots and vegetables.  He comes around every other week or so with what he figures will sell for the season.  During the winter it’s always long stem roses from Ecuador.  Easter it’s lilies, cut flowers for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into the shop the other day to four pepper plants and four tomatoes.  Bill always buys me flowers but apparently he’s been listening and bought food.  Hehehe, excellent, my plan is working, one person at a time.

Survival

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130526 (1)It’s cold, wet, did I mention cold?  Right now it’s 41 degrees, it’s raining and the wind is blowing.  I had grand plans for gardening this weekend and the only thing I’ve accomplished is going through my seeds and drawing out a garden plan.  I had to take all my pots in last night because it was so cold.

Of course I haven’t mentioned all of the indoor projects I could be doing – but it’s Memorial Day weekend, I should be in the garden.  I guess I will just keep the fire going until tomorrow morning and hope it dawns sunny, warm and dry.

 

Spring, Spring, Spring

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IMG_20130510_122633Instagram of a Trout Lily taken in the back forty (swamp area).  God I love spring.

 

New View

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130502 Back Forty Pond

 

I took a walk yesterday out through the woodlot.  It’s been dry this spring so I was able to get to it without the use of waders.  This is the second year we haven’t had beavers on the property although their handywork is ever present.  Without them there their ponds get a little smaller, their paths are beginning to grow in.  They had a pretty extensive network that is now being slowly reabsorbed into the earth.

I walked along one of the boundary walls so I could see how extensive this pond was.  I could only see the marsh reeds from the house and once the leaves are on the trees the only notion you have that it’s there are the birds.  Different birds live around these little ponds, that’s why I love having them here.  I had thought I could see a beaver house from the other side of this pond but as I discovered in my little hike there wasn’t one.  This must have just been another one of their engineering projects while they lived in the pond behind Hoover Damn.

The best part about this little hike was the view – I’ve never seen the house from this vantage point.  Timing is everything, once the leaves come out there really won’t be a view of the buildings, at least not this clear a one. So what started out as a walk in the woods on a glorious spring day had the added benefits of a beautiful new photograph, a renewed sense of well being and 2 really muddy dogs.

Counting Seedlings

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130424 Seedlings

 

Our yard has 6 very large maple trees in it, all varieties.  Each spring I do battle with the seedlings that emerge from the ground.  I have a large perennial garden in that yard that is an oasis for these little saplings.  It doesn’t matter how much I rake the seeds out these are always popping up in the spring.  Right now they are the bane of my existence.

I have a bit of an OCD with counting and a few years ago I turned pulling these up into a counting thing.  Every morning when I take the dogs out I go into that garden and pull up no fewer than 25 of theses little trees.  They are only about 4″ tall and are surprisingly difficult to pull out of the ground.  Honestly it’ll probably take a couple of weeks to get them all out of the garden at that rate.  The consequences of not pulling them up now manifest themselves fully by fall when I have to go out with my shears and cut them to the ground because they’ve grown up in the center of my phlox unnoticed.

Counting my way through this garden every morning also gives me the opportunity to visit the plants that are coming up now (and the weeds).  I visit and revisit certain spots to see who made it through the winter or where they’ve moved from last season.  It’s a getting to know you thing every spring.  I guess if it wasn’t for pulling those saplings I could potentially visit an unfamiliar garden come June.

Going, going, gone.

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130411 (1)Sue messaged me on Tuesday to say I wouldn’t believe how much of the snow was gone.  Sunday when we left there was just one bare spot next to the patio.  This morning all of the gardens are exposed.  Things are popping out of the earth everywhere.  God I love this time of year.  The birds were all singing.  The back forty was very, very wet but walkable.  The water is rushing through the little brook that exits Hoover Damn (I guess I should write about Hoover Damn sometime).

130411 (3)

The garlic is up!  That’s very exciting.

130411 (2)And this looks like what will be on the agenda this weekend – burning brush.  It seems like this is a never ending chore.  It piles up all year waiting for burn season to open in January.  Of course in January there is usually too much snow and half the pile is buried so we have to wait . . . and wait . . . and wait.  Burn season ends on May 1st so we just finish sugaring and it’s a mad couple of weekends trying to get everything burned.  There is also a large pile of logs that needs to be cut and split.  And of course Chester has photo bombed another shot.  That’s his purpose in life.