It's not really time to work in the garden yet, seeing as how there's still snow on the ground. But it's going to be in the forties and mostly sunny all week, which means that snow is doomed. And once it's all gone . . .
1) I can rake off the covering of leaves and hay from the garlic and shallot shoots. Those are planted in the fall, but the small shoots need to be protected from the worst of the cold. And THEN, the protective layer needs to be removed in the spring before the shoots suffocate under it. High-maintenance little things, aren't they?
2) I can dig up the rest of the leeks that are, yes, STILL OUT THERE. Can I get an amen for any plant that can withstand our winters and still manage to be edible in MARCH? AMEN.
3) Also, there are parsnips out there that could be harvested. Except I don't really like parsnips all that much, so no amen for them.
4) I can pull up the remains of the collard plants. I harvested the last of the leaves some time ago, but the ground was too hard to pull the stalks up without just breaking them. So they've been sitting out there, yellowing and forlorn, awaiting the spring garden clean-up.
5) I can finally dump the garbage can of refuse I collected during the fall garden clean-up. And when I say "I," I really mean "A.," because that sumbitch is HEAVY.
6) I can move the cold frame so it's more centered over the one tiny volunteer lettuce plant that's been sitting out there since October, refusing to grow until it got warm. I'm hoping that lettuce plant will take off this week, and we can have lettuce in March. Wouldn't that be awesome? Yes. Yes, it would.
7) I can rake away all the hay that's accumulated in front of the barn as A. moved hay all winter for his woolies. And probably uncover some slugs in there while I'm at it, because that's exactly the kind of protective cover they like. Time to bust out the salt.
8) I can be outside, in the sun, doing physical labor.
Alleluia and praise the spring, gardening time is coming again.
Instead of salting the slugs, is there any way you could rig up a temporary enclosure and let the chickens deal with them? They'll love you for it. (The chickens, not the slugs.)
ReplyDeleteWord verification: culnests -- "The last nest you'll ever need."
I like parsnips. Send 'em my way!
ReplyDeleteI know just how you feel! It's supposed to be in the 40's all this week and I've been breaking out the seed catalogs with enthusiasm.
ReplyDeleteJust reading this makes me tired.
ReplyDeleteIs it weird that I actually thought of you and your weather while I was working in the garden this weekend? Because I did. And if that's weird, well, I don't know, because it's too late.
ReplyDeletePotatoes went in their tires (Hi! We're WT.), fava beans were pulled, seeds were organized.
Next weekend: soil gets turned in all the beds and I visit the local farm to look at their tomato seedlings...
We'll take good care of spring for you until NY is ready :)
We planted a lot of potatoes today. Caught the ground just right to work. Also planted 10 lbs of onion sets. Yes, that is a lot . We grow for farmers market. S. IN. Beth You seem to get our weather a few days after we have it. So, get ready . Oh, yes, you are cleaning up the garden. Oh, and by the way , we don't cover our garlic and it does fine. It gets cold here a lot of times without snow. So , I don't really think you would have to. We get our garlic to plant from a place really close to where you are.
ReplyDeleteword verification urnica
italian - telling a person they are pleasant
Try the parsnips roasted with onions, carrots and potatoes tossed before roasting with olive oil, lemon juice and rosemary and what ever herbs you like. I also boil them and toss them in melted butter and brown sugar and let them carmelize a bit. Even my vegetable hating husband will eat those.
ReplyDeleteword verification "wruce"- what bruce tried to get away with
And it'll be 40 degrees and you'll think it's like summer!
ReplyDelete