Garden Update 4/25/09

April has been a very dry month. April is supposed to be rainy. It is supposed to rain today but so far it is just overcast. The plants need the rain - I think I will get Andy out to do a rain dance later. I think I will even join him. What a crazy sight that will be!

I planted onions yesterday. I ordered extra onion plants this year. I never realized just how many onions we go through. Onions (and carrots) was one of the few vegetables that even though I grow them and get some from my CSA, I still found myself buying more almost every trip to the grocery store. I tried to pay attention to things like that when planning my garden this year. I really want to grow the things that we consume and knock that grocery bill even further down.

So here is a picture of my 6 rows of onions. I watered them really good after planting and they still look good this morning. Hopefully the rain will come.

On Earth Day, we added a grave beside the currant bushes. Just 3 months after we lost our cocker spaniel Molly, we lost our kitty Cricket. She was 16 years old. I wish we could have buried Molly under the currants but the ground was frozen hard in January and we just couldn't afford to pay the extra money to get her ashes back to bury later. This is the end of the animals that I had before I met Dan - I brought both Molly and Cricket with me when I moved here from Arizona in 1994. They lived good lives.

The rhubarb is looking really good this morning. It won't be long until it is tall enough to cut. Yum, yum. I always look forward to rhubarb crisp in the spring. And of course strawberry rhubarb pie and strawberry rhubarb jam and just rhubarb cooked up (my mom always called it pie plant instead of rhubarb).

The lilacs will be blooming soon and sending their wonderful fragrance through the air. I just love the smell of lilacs in the spring - has to be one of my most favorite things of all.

And a couple of brave strawberries have put out some early blossoms. That means there will be strawberries to go with the rhubarb!

A new peach tree!

We planted our new peach tree today. It looks so small. Hopefully with lots of good care it will grow big and strong. I'm looking forward to some tasty peaches again in a few years. I love peaches and the peaches from our old tree was the best.

Dan doesn't usually help in the garden much, but he was a willing helper today. Having planted the plum tree for me 3 years ago really boosted his tree planting confidence.

This peach, like the last is a contender. I ordered it from Gurney's.


Here is a picture of the two of us with the tree right after we planted it. (taken by Andy - he is really getting good at taking pictures)

And here is the tree all by itself. I sstill need to add some mulch around the base.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

This is the scene outside this morning. Hard to believe that I had 4 little boys playing out there yesterday without any coats or boots on! Luckily the snow this time of year does not last very long. Andy is off school for spring break and the weather is actually supposed to be nice - warm and sunny later in the week. I'm hoping for a trip to the zoo during the week.

Meanwhile down in the basement, the seedlings are coming along nicely. They will be ready when the garden is.

The cabbage family plants and lettuce are doing the best.

Even the tomatoes are looking nice. The only things that have not sprouted yet are the peppers and the chives. I don't know why I can't grow chives - I used to have beautiful chives but I have had no luck at all growing them lately. I have tried direct sowing and starting under lights. I have not given up on them yet - but if they don't sprout soon, I may need to do some research on what I might be doing wrong.