Spring gardening - yay!

Rhubarb is finally emerging from its slumber.

I’ve neglected my update duties – sorry about that. I’ve been spending a lot of time reading, planning and dreaming of gardening, building a chicken coop, figuring out where the fruit orchard will be planted, how to predator proof the garden, greenhouse and coop, and trying to make a dent in the never-ending To Do list. So many things, and as usual, only so much time to do everything. Managing priorities has become yet another chore. There’s always something that needs doing in or around the house. And, even more things to do around the yard.

Besides, there wasn’t much to report around here other than more snow arrived, temperatures plunged into double digits, freezing rain made for treacherous driving conditions, the wood stove needed to be fed, I slipped and fell at the woodpile (again), etc.

The last of the snow around the yard finally disappeared two weeks ago. To say that this past winter was brutal is an understatement. It just wouldn’t end. I kept looking helplessly at my box of seeds that I’d ordered from Vesey’s in March and eventually decided not to start any plants indoors this year, other than the artichokes (they are doing just fine) that are growing little by little every week. I’ve lost dozens of plants over the past two years because the weather just wouldn’t co-operate. The plants’ spindly stems and thin roots just weren’t strong enough to handle the outdoors.

Kale left in the garden over winter is sprouting.

So, this year I will be sowing some seeds directly in the garden, but mainly starter plants since we have pretty much bypassed spring and we’re already nearing the end of May. Some good news, though. The rhubarb plants are coming up, some kale that I’d left over winter is sprouting all on its own, some garlic have sprouted and all of the fruit plants are budding.

Fruit plants, seed potatoes, garlic and onion sets.

Yesterday, my order of fruit plants, seed potatoes, onion sets and garlic sets from Vesey’s arrived and I inspected each one to make sure that they survived the journey from Prince Edward Island. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll gradually bring the plants outside for a couple of hours each day and eventually overnight in the greenhouse so they don’t go into shock and then plant them in their selected spots in the garden.

I’m excited about the prospect of picking an abundance of fruit from our orchard in the next 3-5 years: blueberries, gooseberries, cherries, blackberries, grapes, strawberries, currants, haskaps, followed by apples, plums, pears and apricots. The last four types of fruit trees will be planted in late summer/early fall, as I still need to plan that section of the orchard and prepare the site.

Since we have red clay in this area, I want to prepare some nutrient rich soil in deep, wide planting holes to give the trees a good chance of surviving. We have spent three years building up the greenhouse and garden planting areas with eight cubic yards of delivered and screened topsoil mixed with generous amounts of peat moss, shredded leaves, bone meal and nitrogen rich fertilizers like fresh cut grass to improve the soil quality. The soil is now loamy and ideal for our veggie and fruit plants. Last year’s garden and greenhouse results were fantastic.

Garden ready for raised rows and planting.

This past long weekend, Brad weeded and cleaned the greenhouse beds and rototilled the garden after mom and I spent hours weeding the garden. This year, I’ve decided to plant long raised rows instead of individual raised beds so I can plant more individual crops like beans, peas, corn and kale.

The weeds didn’t seem to be as bad as previous years. I guess it was worth the effort to weed in late fall last year and spread a generous amount of leaves on the beds and paths.

It was really good to get outside and breathe in refreshing country air. Muscles that I haven’t really used very much this past winter are reminding me that they need a regular workout. Every day, I’m outside doing something useful. Sweating and aching muscles have a purpose now. Thank goodness for a hot bath and Epson salts. I go to bed physically tired, but it’s a great feeling. I feel like I’m finally awake after a long hibernation and now the race is on to get things done!