So much work to be done!

These two pictures show you what type of work I have in store for me. This is the yard of the abandoned house across the street that my neighbor and I have decided to make into a semi-community garden.
Most of the knee-high weeds were taken out prior to this picture and a very small amount of the leaves. There is so much more to do! We need to clear the whole area, till the soil, order compost (no one can make THATmuch, section it off, find and place walking paths - ugh - so much to do and so little time! The last frost will be here before I know it (typically May 5th around these parts). Oh and the size of the grubs I found in what little area I was in was amazing! Curled up they were the size of quarters - the local wild bird population will love me one I set those suckers loose!
On a separate note I built my raised bed for my asparagus yesterday. I realized that I am not the best with screws, drivers, drills and L-brackets. It looked ok to me but that friggin' thing fell apart today when I was adding in my compost and manure! Forget the screws - I am going straight to the old fashioned hammer and nail.
I also planted some spinach seeds in my window boxes as well as two different types of lettuce seeds indoors. It is only March and this New England weather can turn in a second. I thought about putting my boots away, or at least away from the back door, but figured I will wait till the last frost just to be safe : )

The first 'official' sign of Spring

And there it is - my first crocus for 2009! Apparently the squirrels didn't get as many as I thought - though they did snack on quite a bit! I am hoping that some of the ones that survived are purple. Those are my favorite!

How do geraniums bloom in the dark?

Now that is the question!?! Every year I dig out the geraniums, shake out the excess dirt and hang them upside down in my basement. For the past 5 years all has seemed normal. In the spring I take them outside and cut the dead branches until I reach live, green growth, put them back in their pots and watch them bloom all summer. What is going on with these geraniums?

You can see the new green shoots, some new leaves and of course blooms! They have not seen more than 1 hour of daylight since October, have had no water and they aren't growing in anything. Crazy I say!
Oh and speaking of crazy yesterday while out walking Max I saw a forsythia bush already in bloom! We had a foot of snow on Monday, yesterday it was 60 degrees - it's no wonder the plant world is in a state of confusion. Typically I put down my corn glutton when the forsythias bloom but that is hard to do when you still have several inches of melting snow covering the lawn.
I did notice this morning that the tulips are now coming up along with the daffodils/jonquils. There are a few crocuses peeping up too. I planted over 40 bulbs last fall but forgot to squirrel proof them with chicken wire so I lost the majority of them but thankfully the naturalize pretty quickly so all is not lost.
It is expected to be another 50+ degree day so hopefully the rest of the snow will melt and I can get back to the butterfly bush and hack it to the ground!

In Like a Lion!

So much for Spring coming! I bid a heartfelt RIP to my daffodils (or jonquils). We got pummeled overnight with over a foot of snow. The picture shows the view into my backyard from the porch. This is the lull in the storm. It is expected to snow again around 3pm. The snow had just melted out of my yard too! I was able to get to my garden yesterday to get exact measurements for the raised bed but I guess that won't be going in anytime soon!
Not sure what is going to happen to the sedum, dragon flowers and columbine that were experiencing new growth too. All because of this crazy weather! This photo was taken a few weeks ago at 7:30pm! Unheard of conditions in February in New England!

Spring is coming!

I just noticed yesterday that my daffodils (or maybe jonquils - I can never tell the two apart) are peeking out already! I personally think it is too early but who am I to argue with Mother Nature? I am surprised to see them coming up already when the crocuses haven't even started. Last year I had tons of foliage and very few flowers - not sure why because every other year they have looked great. Keeping my fingers crossed that this year they actually do something! If I still only get a flower or two I will have to remember to dig them up in the fall and divide them.
Today I need to investigate how to hang a 'catch all' under my bird feeders - the hulled shells are a disgusting mess - not to mention the sunflower seeds hinder other things from growing. The no mess bird seed is always an option but I can never find it in a 20+ pound bag. I think I may start filling the suet feeders with yarn, string, dog hair, etc so my little friends can start building their nests. If my Spring bulbs are coming up that means the migrating birds will soon be here too.

60+ in February!

This is global warming at its finest - check out this picture - 60+ degrees and it is only February 11! My thermometer sits in the shade of my porch all day so it was even warmer than what it shows!

Thankfully there is still close to knee deep snow on the ground so my early spring bulbs won't be coming up yet. Not really sure what the rest of the week holds for temperature, but this is definitely just a tease. No way is winter on it's way out of New England. As you can see from where my garden is supposed to be - we have a L-O-N-G way to go.

I have a lot of work to do in my garden space - last year I expanded up the hill and learned the hard way that I really should have built several raised beds so that the water didn't completely drown out the cukes at the bottom. So, raised beds are on the list as well as expanding another 6 feet at the other end of the existing garden. The first 6 feet is designated to asparagus and then the remaining 12 feet to all the rest.

Way Overdue

I can't believe that my last posting was in July! My 2009 resolution is to be more diligent to this positing to record the highs and lows of my experiences!
This year my garden is starting from seed. Yup - seed. I ordered all my seeds through Territorial Seeds and Henry Fields and this year I am expanding the garden (again) and growing some new things. For the cool weather garden I am going with lettuce, carrots, radishes and sugar and snap peas. And then when the weather heats up out come the cukes, zukes, tomatoes, edamame, beans and spaghetti squash. I guess I should be truthful - the cukes, zukes and tomatoes will be purchased as plants - I can't take on everything at once!
I also have been working with my newly converted organic neighbor, Tom, on starting a community garden. There is a house across the street and next to Tom that has been abandoned for 3 years and everyone is sick of looking at the overrun yard and weeds. We are going to work together to make an established bed of about 15 x 20 and there I will attempt from seed - corn and delicata squash and I also ordered two types of potatoes - yukon gold and red - along with some red onion sets. I have enough bean seeds so those will probably move over across the street too. I am going with the Native American Three Sisters method - squash, corn and beans. Hopefully it all comes to fruition.
We have a lot to do if the snow every melts. Since the yard has been empty for so long there are TONS of at least thigh high weeds and "grass" that needs to be taken care of before we even think about dumping down loads of compost.
Storm after storm has dumped a lot of snow around here so once I can manage to get into that backyard I will snap a before picture.