Carrots, onions, peas, chard and beets

Spring has really come on fast this week, with the bulbs jumping up and the soil thawing. I finished up most of the yard clean-up (just one small patch of raking left to do) and we visited Apache Seeds to pick up a few more packets.

The bigs are also making a come back. Jess found the first lady bug of the season while we were planting onion sets.

At this point, we have pretty much everything in the ground except the tender plants and a bed of carrots (the bed needs more work). In addition to the onions, we planted some yard-long Armenian cucumbers (our bit of stunt gardening for the year), a bunch of summer squash, and some beets, chard, and carrots.

We also got the peas in the ground and sorted out a couple of beds that were in some disarray after last fall's gardening flame-out in late September.

This week we need to do some more infrastructure work. There is an old bird bath that finally broke over the winter to break down and dispose of. We also have enough dry branches and twigs laying about that a fire might be a good idea. I spent some of Saturday staking out the tomato beds in the front so we might plant them next weekend (depending on what the weather forecast looks like).

Potatoes and lettuce

As gardening Edmonton tends to go, last week's winter has become this week's full-on spring. A few days of warmth have melted most of the snow.

Jess noticed the poppies were coming up mid-week in the front planter and by Friday the wild onion and tulips on the south side were up.

We went out Saturday and planted a box full of lettuce and radishes for some early greens. The back beds melt out first and get a nice bounce from the garage so heat up quickly. And no one seems to steal leafy greens!

I was smoothing out the beds in the front and noticed am immense amount of bunny poop.

Sunday we pounded in the posts for the pea/bean trellis. Jess can now handle the sledgehammer without me. Notice, though, I am standing well away while taking this picture.

The trellis went up on the north side of the front beds this year. We will plant peas shortly (tomorrow maybe). Beans and sunflowers (in behind) will follow.

I then graded and dug half the front beds for potatoes while Jess cut the seed potatoes. We went wit blue caribe this year--they have been the best of the potatoes in terms of size and scab resistance.

I then sat down while Jess dropped the spuds in and covered the holes. We also did a bunch of potatoes around back (again a safe alley crop as no one knows what they are).

We will plant some peas this coming week and then also put in a couple of hundred onion sets. The back yard needs to dry out a touch before we do any more digging.

Winter that won't quit!

Unit is day 168 of temperatures that are below zero and we're more than a month behind normal in terms of melting. The has been a long winter! Facebook is showing me two years ago that we were planting peas in short sleeves last week!

The back beds are usually the first to be snow-free and warmed up. We can finally see soil (as of yesterday) and I'm hopeful the snow will be gone in the next few days. Inside, we've decided to just start corn this year. The first of the shoots is up an that is hopeful.

Fortunately, the roads have finally melted out so at least I can get my summer bicycle out to ride while we wait on the garden.