I Am Ready, Bring It On!!

[patandchickens]

Here it's back into the low single digits F with distinctly negative windchill, and 6-8" of well-drifted snow on the ground. Nothing gonna happen anytime soon. Well except that DS #1 and I are going to prick out lettuce seedlings into pots this afternoon... but they are not going into the ground, probably ever

OTOH we have been here enough years now that I can look back in our weather book (does anyone else log their weather along with their garden records?) and remind myself that it is always late April at the EARLIEST before I can possibly put anything at all in the ground, and that's still 6 wks before our last frost. No early crocuses til early April, even. So at least I know better than to get all excited by the last coupla weeks of warm-and-lots-of-exposed-grass

Pat

 

[simple life]

Yuck, those winds make it so much colder.
I have heard of alot of other surrounding New England states getting hit hard with snow this week, but we thankfully did not.
I just like to see the old dirty snow melt before it snows again.
The backyard still has big patches of ice but hopefully it stays as clear as it is because we have the new chicken coop going in next week and if the ground is soft enough I may be able to put in some fence posts for the run, if not we will just have to wait for that part of it.
After that the heavy work will be done and its mostly the enjoyable chores.
The main thing was moving all those vegetable beds, shoveling out all the dirt, moving the frames and refilling.
Now I got itchy fingers to get planting.
I bought soooo many seeds.
I am getting a new garden shed and I cannot wait to have a nice space to work in, the bees are coming in a few weeks, I am getting a fence around the garden and we plan to put a good dent in my landscaping plans.
I am really looking forward to spring this year. (which makes it all the much harder to wait out winter)

 

[setter4]

It's 20 degrees, windy and blowing snow but DH is out there putting 50 tons of top soil in the new garden area...gotta' love him!

 

[simple life]

Aren't they great with that stuff? My husband did the same for me this weekend. Even when it was so cold my ears were hurting and decided to go in he said he wanted to finish.

 

[Reinbeau]

Natalie, be careful working the soil yet. If you work soil that is too wet you can compact it, crushing all the air out, and it'll be pretty solid, making it difficult for roots to penetrate. The soil should 'crumb' apart if you pick up a handful and crush it into a ball, if it stays in a ball, it's still too wet. Usually our soils aren't ready until the second week in March, at the earliest.

 

[simple life]

My soil looks pretty good. All the snow is gone and we brought some soil in to plant seedlings in and I had to water them. It wasn't wet at all. After he broke it up it slid right through my hands.
You still have alot of snow in your are though I think, its strange how 8 miles can make a difference like that.
I turned the compost the other day and it was pretty hot so it should be nice stuff to use in the garden.
I love the way the new beds are set up, we added in several more and rearranged the rest, I gained more room and its more cohesive.

 

[Reinbeau]

You planted seedlings out? Are you going to cover them with something? Even things that are frost tolerant won't take sustained 20's and low 30's for very long at the seedling stage. Not trying to discourage you, but I don't want you to be disappointed.

 

[simple life]

No not out, in. I brought in a pail for soil for the kids to plant their seedlings.
I usually make them wait to do the seedlings until March but they have been dying to plant some seeds since the order came in.

 

[setter4]

Aren't they great with that stuff? My husband did the same for me this weekend. Even when it was so cold my ears were hurting and decided to go in he said he wanted to finish.

Mine was cheating a little...he was doing it with the backhoe. lol

 

[simple life]

It still counts!
Oh my husband would be jealous, big boy toys!