I was out taking down and storing away Christmas lights today at lunch. There is still a lot of snow in the yard (at least 18 inches in many spots) and more is predicted in the next few days.
Despite this, there were lots of signs of spring. In the new strawberry bed (top left of photo above), the snow had melted off and the strawberry plants were starting to send out shoots (you can just see one through the leaf litter in the picture below).
And by the garage I found a lone lady bug crawling out of the leaves and into the sun. Ladybugs tend to cluster together to survive the winter so I expect a bunch hunkered down under the lilac bush.
By the cold frames, I see the eaves are running into a old water jug (Jess must have put this there on the weekend).
The cold frames are warm and the soil is workable down to about three and a half inches. I think we will plant some kale and maybe garlic in here next week.
Bob - good news on the cold frames! Mine were placed "strategically" in the fall (south facing and protected), but oh BOY they still are covered in very deep snow and are actually iced over thickly. My "prime spot" turned out to be a major snow swirling collector of winter's precipitation. I gave up brushing the snow off - it just kept swirling back. Next fall I will have to find another spot for them. I bet your kales, etc will do very well in your frames. Some lettuces are actually quite cold hardy, as are radishes :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, yes I'm excited to get a jump on the season. The cold frames against the house are ready to go--the ones out in the garden are still under 12 inches of snow (I assume)!
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