Monday 28 March 2016

Back to bread; Year 2 of "planting when ground can be worked" and other outdoor updates


I had great hopes of getting some seeds straight into the ground as the weather forecast for the long weekend looked promising.  Unfortunately we were hit with a mild ice storm which coated most of the garden beds.  I'm a bit out of practice as I haven't made my own bread (baguettes in this case) for a while but Dave @ Our Happy Acres has inspired me to get back into it and it was a fun thing to do with the nasty weather outside.

But by Sunday afternoon (a nice warm day!) I was able to direct sow some cool season crops.  I'm still testing this overall theory of "planting when the soil can be worked" - mainly because it was workable a week or so ago then iced up again.  So I guess there needs to be some consistency in the weather before starting.


Anyway, in what I refer to as a small "greens' garden, I've direct sowed the following yesterday:
  • spinach (reflect hybrid)
  • arugula (astro)
  • evergreen bunching onions
  • bon  vivant lettuce
  • easter egg radish
  • generic - rocket salad (arugula) 
And my earlier starts in the greenhouse are showing some sprouts for the arugula and radish.  Not so much though for the sugar ann peas.


Outside, I have the garlic started last fall which is still covered with mulch until I'm sure the worst of the cold weather is over with.  And some egyptian walking onions similarly covered with mulch.



















And here is the usual flooding in the yard which prevents work in these two areas for another 6-8 weeks (but plenty of time for planting summer crops).



This area usually has snow into May due to shading from trees.


And some little signs of spring ... daylilies just starting to pop up.




And daffodils well on their way ...




And Sugar Ray is going outside more often (thank goodness!) and here he is looking wistfully outdoors and watching the birds.


I 'm feeling pretty good that spring has arrived ... officially yes, but the word is out on the technical arrival of spring.  But I'm sure it's all going up from here!

6 comments:

  1. Oooh, I can almost smell that bread baking! I've been doing some of that 'planting when the soil can be worked' too, but my problem has been the spring rains come and then it's too wet to plant. So I have been working between the rains. I think it looks like Sugar Ray is ready for spring too!

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    1. Fresh bread smell really is the best. Do they have a car freshener for that - LOL. Yes, spring certainly is a challenge with ever changing weather!

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  2. Baking bread is so satisfying, but eating fresh bread is even better, preferably with some good salted butter! I'm not sure I could make it through one of your winters without loosing my sanity, so cold, for such a long time... I know I'm so spoiled. But it's not like I'm basking in the warmth all the time, today the wind is blasting, it's s cold (by my standards), there's huge whitecaps on Monterey Bay, and the sand is flying such that I thought the paint was going to be stripped from my car as I drove through it.

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    1. I haven't baked bread for a while now (a year plus?) and that was my big mistake - not salting it enough. So the bread baked well, but a bit bland. Bring on the salty toppings!!

      Having lived on the "wet" coast (Vancouver) for many years, I can understand it has its own challenges. In between snowstorms here, we still get plenty of sunny days, but not always so much there and it seems weather is shifting constantly.

      Sometimes I am envious of warmer climates, but really, I think we gardeners really just crave some consistency for planning ... unfortunately, not an option these days with the ever-changing weather patterns.

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  3. Yum yum bread; nothing better than fresh baked - everyone's favourite! I'll be getting some of the beds ready for planting tomorrow - it's supposed to be a halfway decent day - but I won't be sowing anything for another week or so. We are supposed to have another cold front coming in for this weekend...these ups and downs are driving me crazy!

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