signs of spring

I like to watch for signs of spring. Even though we are buried again under 10 inches of snow, there are some signs around. The water fowl are starting to pair off, the squirrels are chasing each other with great excitement, and the hellebore buds are swelling (I peeked last week before the snow).

sure signs of spring

signs of spring

Finally, a few signs of spring in my garden. Pussy willows are out and snowdrops are opening. My gnome has emerged from the snowcover. The birds are plentiful and signing loudly. A lovely carolina wren was singing today, as well as the usual chickadees, cardinals, and sparrows. I am a bit concerned about my garlic. Its still under a couple inches of snow and the tips are looking ragged. I hope it survived.

sure signs of spring

community plots

Yesterday I walked through Rock Meadow Community Gardens with Skippy. I took pictures of many of the plots, which are showing lots of signs of spring planting. I enjoy the different ways of using the plots. Different types of beds and different types of pathways. I'm considering how I will set up my plot. Tomorrow's the big day - plot assignments!

Belmont Victory Garden
sure signs of spring

signs of spring - despite the snow

1. The squirrels are making a commotion chasing each other along the fence.
2. Chickadees are singing their spring song and flying in pairs.
3. My local hardware store has their seeds racks up. (They've added an additional rack this year - sign of a big year ahead for gardeners I think).
4. The Red Sox are heading south for spring practice.
5. The sunlight feels very nice!

sure signs of spring

turning the soil of my raised beds

My spring routine is to turn the soil of my garden beds. Today I turned three of my beds. I use a standard garden shovel and flip the soil over onto itself - the way my dad showed me years ago. If I have a cover crop, this gets turned under. This year I have a light cover of winter ryegrass. I like the wait a week or so, but sometimes right away, I smooth the soil level with the backside of a metal rake. Finally my irrigation lines get buried and the beds are ready to plant.

Tomorrow the skies are forecast to cloud over and rain is scheduled for the weekend. Once it clouds up, I plan to transplant my broccoli, kale, onions, endive and some lettuce seedlings into the garden. Exciting! My first garden transplants of the year. My pea sprouts are doing well and if I have time, I'll sow another row or two of pea seeds. Another sign that spring is here is that there is an endless amount of garden work now.

To turn or not to turn? I've recently heard that turning ruins the structure of the soil. I'll have to read more about this. To me, turning mixes in the cover crop, aerates the soil, and is a spring activity I look forward to. With only 360 sq ft, it doesn't take very long. Afterwards I feel like I've done some real work. I can throw my clothes in the wash, eat and sleep well, and look forward to planting.

topic: soil

sure signs of spring

dream big

... another sure sign of spring is when silly little Easter decorations show up in the stores.

sure signs of spring

welcome home gift

My parents have returned from the South to their Massachusetts home. (Another sign of Spring!) Skippy and I are visiting today. I have a little package for them - to help start their garden. A few seed packets (nasturtiums, beans, spinach and a summer crisp lettuce). Also plant labels and marker pen. I have a lot of seedlings for them too, but they're not ready yet.

garden gifts
sure signs of spring

vote for your favorite garden blog awards

Another sign of spring! It's time for best blog voting. Here's the link for this year's Mouse & Trowel Awards.

I wish they had a category for best vegetable garden journal with a cute black dog! I love how those nice award icons look on the winning blogs.

I am looking forward to voting for the blogs I enjoy most. Of course, I am biased to the vegetable oriented ones. My favorites are on my sidebar. Good luck all!

sure signs of spring

my garden plot after vacation

Always fun to see whats new in the garden after being away for vacation.

- The small pumpkins are turning orange. The big ones are getting enormous. I found 2 today and wouldn't be surprised if there are more to be found under the vines.

- The butternut vines are starting to mildew. But no signs of stem borers. I picked my first butternut squash today AND I counted 16 more! Amazing for 3 plants!

- The savoy cabbage is heading nicely as well as a couple more red cabbages.

- The tomatoes seem to be doing better against the Late Blight. The 5 plants left look big and healthy. Still no good ripe tomatoes yet, but looks like I may be able to get some soon.

- Can't wait for that popcorn. It is 7 feet tall and looks really nice.

- I have one sweet potato vine that's growing very well now. Skippy partially dug it up a couple weeks ago and I noticed there are lots of tubers down there.

- The chiles are starting to ripen. Nice red Thai Hots, Nardellos and sweet peppers coming along. Eggplants too are growing well.

- I have a dozen parsnip plants getting big now. And 4 or 5 celeriac. These are new crops for me and it will be exciting to harvest these later. I'm not sure when to harvest. Maybe the parsnips are a spring crop?

- I also have a nice row of winter radish growing. A mix of pink and white ones.

- Have some spaces to fill. I'll have to look up what can be seeded now. I think fall greens, lettuce, spinach, arugula etc. A good thing to plan on doing tomorrow.