We've had a busy week, as our daughter Kate performed in "Guys and Dolls," and all our free time has been taken up with volunteering backstage, and of course watching the show. Tom managed to get a few things done yesterday. We traded some hard cider and eggs with Ruby Blume of the Institute of Urban Homesteading for some of her freshly-dug 'Cascade' hops. Tom got those settled in to one of the new planters. He'll order three more kinds of hops from Freshops, in early March, for the other three planters. Hopefully we'll get the hop trellis built today. Tom also obtained a smoker from some dear friends (thanks Jo and Bob!) and so he's getting ready to smoke some bacon.
The only project I got to yesterday was using my ginger bug to make some homemade fermented ginger lemonade. I didn't even get to bread baking. My plan for today, other than boring things like house-cleaning, is to get the seedlings potted up. I'd like to thin the beets and carrots, and add more hay to the potato bed (I'm trying an experiment, using hay for 'hilling,' rather than dirt).
Meanwhile, I thought you'd like to see some pictures of the garden, since I have little else to share. Our recent hot spell, combined with a good soaking rain, provided the plants with the impetus they needed to really get growing. It's fun to walk around just after sunrise and see what's happening. The birds are busy, the bees are just starting to get warmed up, and the dew (or maybe it's melted light frost, as we've had cold nights lately) sparkles on the leaves. Enjoy!
All the fruit trees are fixing to blossom. This is the peach tree.
An old-fashioned poppy, about to bloom.
Salvia
I often forget what seeds I've scattered. This is coming up all over the North Pollinator garden; can't wait to see what it is!
A squirrel strikes again! I pulled out this oak seedling as soon as I took the picture, as it was in my vegetable beds. Pretty, though.
Daffodil
Hyacinth.
Ceanothus, ready to burst in to bloom.
Flowering Currant.
Blueberry flowers.
Broccoli. It's hard to wait for this; fresh broccoli tastes so much better than from the store.
Swiss Chard.
Kale.
A beautiful head of lettuce.
Not sure what this is - some sort of variety of braising green - sure is pretty.
Shelling peas.
Salad Turnips.
Beets.
Fingerling Potatoes.
volunteer Cilantro.
Carrots.
We are busy again this week, as Adam has his "Odyssey of the Mind" competition next Saturday, so once again the garden, and outdoor projects in general, will have to take a back seat. Which turns out to be ok, because the next project is filling the new raised beds with dirt, and planting some perennial veg, a fruit tree or two, and some herbs, and all of that is expensive. I don't often talk about the money side of things, but we have to carefully budget for our outdoor projects. February's earmarked funds have been spent. So we'd have to wait until March for this next step, anyway.
I imagine that all my mid-west and east-coast readers are contemplating starting their seeds indoors, about now. Here's hoping some of our sunshine comes your way! (and how often I've wished some of your rain and snow could come ours...)