February Update: snow, snow go away!

     February 2nd greeted the ground-hog favorably....no shadow!  Hurry up Spring!   Unfortunately a few days later winter hit us with about 8 to 11 inches of snow and a harsh reminder that it's still her season.  Hopefully with February coming in like a lion it will go out like a lamb. 


    I'm thankful that all of the seedlings I started in early January are still doing very well.  I've made a note to myself to not add so many seeds to one pot the next time I try this.  I'm going to need to divide my tomatoes and peppers since so many of the seeds did germinate.  But that's a good problem to have!   

  
  
     I also learned that the seedlings grown in the plastic pots are much healthier than those in the peat pots. (The above photo shows Fennel seedlings planted at the same date/time.)  I have since transplanted everything that was in peat pots into recycled water and soda bottles.

  

     In late January I ordered more vegetable seeds and plants:  Brussels Sprouts, Eggplant, Artichokes, Red Onion sets, Shallots and two Cabernet Sauvingnon Grape vines.  I'm especially excited about the grapes since it I currently have Cabernet Franc (the parent plant to the earlier variety mentioned) and Petite Syrah.  Once all three vines begin producing I'll be able to create a very nice blended wine that should have plenty of tannins, red fruit flavors and age very nicely.  The Cab Franc and Petite Syrah will be 3 years old this year (viticulturists refer to it as their '3rd leaf') and ready to produce fruit. 

     On January 31st I received the Brussels Sprouts, Eggplant and Artichoke seeds just in time for the next round of snow that was prepared to hit us a few days later.  I started the seeds on Sunday, February 6th (a day later than the time that my trusty Farmers Almanac indicated was a favorable day) and I still experienced success!  The Sprouts and Artichokes sprouted by Wednesday, February 9th and the Eggplant (which tends to take longer than anything else) made its appearance on Saturday, February 12th.



Brussels Sprouts seedlings - 3 days old!

 

Artichoke Seedlings



     Following the Woman's perogative, I changed my mind about the garden layout.  Because our backyard has a gentle slope, I knew it would take some work to make 4x4 garden beds level.  And since we already have part of the sod removed where the existing beds are, I decided to work with those and just widen and extend them up along the fence line.

     When all is done, I should have my main vegetable bed (along the left side of the yard that will be 2-3 feet wide by 40 feet long.  That will allow for 80 - 120 square feet of planting space.  The perennial vegetable bed will be along the opposite side of the yard and will contain the Artichokes, Asparagus, Strawberries, Chives and possibly some Okra and Sage.   My plan is for it to be 2-3 feet wide and 20 feet long. 

     I do plan to add some type of raised bed edging and bring in compost to fill in and amend the soild in the beds. Plus I need to set up some type of small fencing around the garden beds to keep our dog Louis out of them.  (Now I don't have a rabbit problem...I have a dog problem!)

     In addition to all of this, we have some space on the right side of the yard where the grass has died.  (When life gives lemons - make lemonaide!)  I think this will be a perfect place to put Kelsey's small vegetable garden.  She told me the other day she wants a small garden so she can grow veggies for her new pet Turtle.  (Unless she changes her mind and gets a Frog...she is still trying to decide which to get.  Decisions, decisions!)



    Winter also decided to be nice to us over the weekend and the temperatures soared up into the 40s on Sunday.  I decided to take advantage of that and the melting snow and did some of my winter pruning of my grape vines.  I was excited to see green wood!  That means that while the vines are dormant, they are still alive.  This is especially wonderful since neither variety is supposed to be able to survive our winters.  We're in zone 5a and the Cabernet Franc is hardy to zone 6 and Petite Syrah is hardy to zone 7.  This means the extra work in late fall to prep the vines for winter is paying off!

Cabernet Franc grape vine that has been winter pruned.

Green wood on a Petite Syrah vine.  A VERY good thing!

     Next month I hope to be able to get out and start preping the veggie beds!   Spring is on her way!