Not to grouse about the weather once again, but it was 11 F overnight and there is still a reasonably thick blanket of snow over everything but the driveway. It is cold. It is windy. It is only sometimes this sunny. Its also April for sobbing out loud. Its depressing as hell y’all.
In any event, it is what it is. I’ve briefly considered getting out the flame weeder in a desperate attempt to rid us of snow, but common sense prevailed. I’m just having to focus on what’s going on inside- despite the chicken-pox-like itch I’ve got to get outside.
Five of the orchard trees arrived from Fedco Trees. Beautifully packaged and right on time. I mean, on time as far as when they said they’d arrive, not on time in relation to the conditions outside.
Given that they are bare root, we had to do something with them because (going by the weather forecast) its going to be at least two weeks before we have any hope of getting them into the ground. Three had enormous root systems (yay!) and didn’t fit into the pots we had, two fit perfectly. The three larger ones got potted into trash bags full of compost and shredded newspaper (with some holes in the bottom). We MacGyver’d the heck out of it and I’m tentatively hopeful this will nudge them through the next few weeks until we can get them properly planted.
Upstairs, the grow lights are blazing away but there’s a bit of a standstill on the new sowings. Room is running out under the lights and I’ll have to wait another week for overnight temperatures to be warm enough for the radiator to keep things frost free.
Whenever that happens I can get the fava beans and onions outside (top), thin out the Nicotiana (bottom left), pot on the four Savory varieties for the plant trial (bottom right), and give the tomatoes, broccoli, Calendula, and eggplants a bit more breathing room (middle photos).
I’ve not even looked at my Seed Sowing Schedule for April as there’s no room for anything anyway and we are a full two weeks behind where I was anticipating. With that sort of math, there’s really no need to hurry things along.
We are about to head out for some errand running and I decided we’d also head off to the local nursery for a bit. I’ve no need to buy anything yet (though don’t put it past me!), but I do have a deep need to sit in a warm room that smells like green.
Hope you all have a lovely (and warmer than ours) Saturday and weekend. Go get your hands dirty for me and send your warmer weather up North please!
Box & Bay 