Is It Spring Yet?

April 14, 2010

Spring seems to be having trouble starting this year. There is a day here and there when the sun feels warm, but then it gets cold again, and they're even calling for snow this weekend!

I planted the sweet green peas last week, after all, soil could be worked, and have eagerly been watching for their emergence. None as of yet.

There are tiny sprouts around the bottom of last years golden raspberry canes. I'm thrilled, since I just planted the canes last year and I didn't know how well the new canes would survive the winter. There are lots of buds on the black currants, and the mache is everywhere.

Oddly enough, I found much of last year's garlic strewn about, lying on top of the garden beds, sprouting. Did the frost do it? If so, that would be a first for me. I gathered them all up and planted them neatly in the bed that held the asparagus peas last year. I don't think I'll have any asparagus peas this year. They're so much work, hard to train, difficult to harvest, and not very flavorful. I'm glad I experimented with them, and every curious gardener should, but despite being able to grow easily from last years seed, and having absolutely gorgeous, tiny, dark red flowers. The novelty has worn off, and this year the bed has been reallocated.  Am I being fickle? Shallow? Disrespectful? Why do I feel uncomfortable when I move on, devoting ground to new vegetables? There's only so much space in the garden. 

I emptied both composters last week. Each was filled about two feet deep with rich, beautiful compost. I spread it out on the beds, dreaming of well fed vegetables that would, in their turn, keep me well fed. I feel so lucky that "compost happens" as they say. It couldn't be much easier, and compost will happen, seemingly pretty much all by itself. 

Plans for this year include lots and lots of herbs, edible flowers and vegetables, especially ground cherries, and cucumbers that I grow on trellises. I love vegetables that climb. No bending for harvest, and I love to train the beautiful spiral tendrils to grab onto the trellis just where I want them to go. The tendrils are so beautiful when they are just emerging, all tightly coiled and covered with downy hairs. It's fascinating how they can just latch on to the trellis and hold there for the whole season.