Spring Is Near!!

Yes we get all exsited here allso,we are planting the usal vegies and herbs and trying a few new ones.We picked up a new gardner to help out so i can put more time into the garlic.We are planning our festavals for the year now.We are allso puting up a new green house.I plan on styling our cedar trees into bonsai trees.im planning on building a new earth oven (mmm brick oven pizza at the gardens).And i might contruct a new cold frame or 2.Lots of work,i hope to see some of you at our vestavals this year.
sunshine is coming
woodenfrog

 

sounds like everyone is as busy & excited as me!
i have been spending mondays volunteering at our local arboretum. for the past two weeks, i've been transplanting tiny little basil seedlings....what a great way to welcome the coming spring & the return of the sun!!!!

hey mamaboogie....i see your in the south as well. got any advice about amaranth? we're growing it for the first time this year.
your sunflower hideaway sounds awesome! i've seen a tipi made out of peas....what a great place to spend the hot afternoon!

 

I'm pretty busy right now mself, I finished making two raised beds and I gotta prepare the two ground beds now for potatoes, carrots and onions.

I got a load of sycamore shoots and I'm gonna make a teepee from them too. Let some runner beans grow up. Oh and I also gotta make a patch for my pumpkins too. The weather is still pretty lousy here though, so it will be a while before anything goes out!

 

I can't wait for spring!
Winter has been so damn long that I think I'll cry at the sight of nice green grass.

 

The only amaranth I've ever grown was the ornamental kind, cockscomb, I think it was... this is my first attempt to grow it with the intent to harvest and eat the seeds! I have no idea what will happen. I just know that it costs way too much at our health food store, and I want to try growing it myself. When I attempt to grow something new, I try to plant it in at least two or three different places, so I can see what conditions it likes best and plant it more appropriately the next time. I have some nice, finished compost that I've started turning into the soil but mostly I just pile on the leaves and organic matter all winter and let the worms prepare my planting beds for me. We are having the HUGE maple tree cut down in our backyard, so will have much more sunlight than ever before. I can't wait to get planting!! April seems so far away... Maybe we'll go ahead and start some peas or lettuce since they don't mind colder nights as much.

 

i know it's probably a bit colder in TN, but we've already started some sugar snaps. actually we did a late jan planting (an eerily mild winter down here) & they're doing lovely so far! we have some nice compost too. isn't it just great when you pull back the leaves for the first time & the soil is just oh, so black! the lazy compost....a gardener's dream! we sifted our very old & somewhat neglected compost pile this week & it was *gorgeous* as well. i've got soooo much weeding to do & then i can begin to work some of that goodness back into the soil...ahhh, the cycle continues.

 

You know your a true gardener when you look on a huge pile of horsepoo with love!

 

Think Im going shopping for seeds this week to fill my new beds
Was thinking on planting:

Potatoes
Onions
Carrots
Peas
Leeks
Lettuce
Cabbage
Tomatoes(has to be in the greenhouse here)
Maybe some sunflowers just for fun to see how tall they can grow.
Different herbs too.

Going to have to get some manure on the go too I think, it should have been dug in earlier but didnt have the time and the beds werent ready. Going to try and keep the garden totally organic, and not use any slug pellets like before, heard they kill frogs/toads too!