Seeding, cutting back and general yard work

The pile of wood chips on the driveway is getting smaller each day.  I no longer do marathon hauling sessions, but rather like to chip away at jobs in smaller pieces.  The hardest areas have been done where I had to carry the chips in large buckets to fill the pathways of my garden (the wheel barrow does not fit through the gate).

Seedlings have been popping up like crazy, so I am spending a couple hours at a time pricking out little vegetables and flowers into larger cell packs.  As a result, more and more established plants have been added to the outdoor shelves and only moved into the garage to get them out of the cold.

Nature played a cruel trick on Wisconsin this year.  Last year we were two weeks ahead of spring's normal start.  Our friends in the northwest part of the state were dealing with up to 18" of new snow with the front that brought us cold rain.  Opening fishing season called for ice augers on some lakes as there was still 24" of ice on some of them.  Like they say, if you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes!

I divided up my hanging basket of Mandevilla vine today.  I was just going to move it up a pot size when I noticed it had four individual stems from one pot.  It will be interesting to see how it handles the stress of dividing.  My jasmine has flowers on it already.  It amazes me that it can sit in the basement all winter and still put out a nice flush of early blooms.  Artificial light does not hinder this one.  I had done a drastic cut back on it last fall to make it easy to keep for the winter.  This also did not seems to set it back much either.

I think the tomatoes are ready for cell packs now.  I may have tried too many this year, but the seed catalogs were too tempting with the descriptions.  Only one tomatillo is going in this year though.  Four was too many.

There was some good bargains at the hardware store this morning for potting soil.  This is what made all the transplanting possible.  Mother's Day is next weekend so the stores are really gearing up for spring even if it doesn't always feel like it is here.  I also got 10-10-10 fertilizer for the asparagus bed.  Everything I read said to put 10-10-10 in the trench.  It was a pretty good day all-in-all. 

If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes

To say we have been experiencing crazy weather in Wisconsin lately would not be overstating the facts.  Today alone it was cold and wind, cold and snow, cold and sun, cold and graupel  (yeah, look that one up), cold and snow...you get the picture.  This is coming on the heels of almost two weeks of off and on rain which has been pretty heavy at times.  The amazing thing is, we are just coming out of designations of drought and extremely dry...after all the rain.

I have been putting my onions out on the open but covered porch to start hardening them off.  I did have them out most of the day, but called my daughter and asked her to bring them in for the remainder of the afternoon.  They had suffered enough.  I don't think this weekend is going to be time to plant after all the rain we got.

Arbor Day is one week away.  We continue to plan our events in the hopes that the weather will give us a reprieve in time for the outdoor activities.  Monday, April 22nd is Earth Day.  Plan a simple activity that provides a meaningful contribution to the earth as well as your community.  Anyone can pick up trash and make the world just a little bit nicer.

What ever it is you plan for your own celebration, remember that if everyone cared just a little, the world can be a better place for all.

Spring will come...eventually

Yesterday was hours of basement gardening.  After seeding tomatoes and my earliest flowers, I transplanted.  Petunias and violas had set on sometimes two or three sets of true leaves.  Peppers are not far behind.  The coleus that I had cut was rooted enough to put into potting mix. 

To make room for all the new transplants, I refilled the rooting jars with the rest of the coleus cuttings I allowed to grow on the plants the last time.  The remainder of the coleus stock plants are now compost.  I boosted these shorter plants up towards the light with buckets underneath the flats to optimize the artificial light being received by the leaves of the new transplants.

I am an early riser.  This morning was no exception.  After getting the ingredients for fresh bread in the machine, I settled in with a borrowed copy of the book The Worst Hard Time.  I'm enjoying this lesson on the Dust Bowl of the 1930's and how it impacted lives and the environment.  PBS did a similar two part documentary if you are not into reading.  Both are worth the time spent.

I got up from reading to refill my coffee cup.  The scene out my window changed in 30 minutes.  This is Wisconsin.  What was a gray and cold morning is now a white and cold morning.  The peas that I put in the ground are suffering through the indignation.  I did put a clear plastic tunnel over the row (concerned about excessive rain rotting the seed).  I really am not sure how the peas seeds will handle this.  Only time will tell.  Gambling the old seed to the soil is worth the chance.  There are more pea seeds at the garden center.

Sometimes, as a gardener, you have to make your best guess about what the weather will do.  I gambled on the peas, but left the beet, radishes, and other root vegetable seeds on my kitchen counter waiting for a better day.  Looking out the window, it seems that spring will never come.  It will in its own time.  I will continue to enjoy my book while I wait.