Garden Friday

 

 

Welcome to the first Garden Friday of the New Year!

After weeks of mild weather,

'Ole Man Winter has come back and it looks like

He's here to stay! 

Amazingly, the other day we got 3" of rain overnight!

Sure hoping that helps our deficit.

It also snowed for exactly five minutes one day this week.

Who can predict the weather anymore?

 

With the temperature fluctuations,

it's no wonder the asparagus is confused.

I sampled several stalks that popped up 

and they were delicious!

Looking forward to a spring harvest.

 

The mint behind the chicken run is waking up.

I'd love to get into the habit of picking it and drying it for tea.

This crop was already here when we bought the house five years ago.

 

The carrots don't seem to mind the changes in the weather.

They keep company with beets in this bed

and just keep rolling right along.

I've decided I need to grow more carrots

since I discovered how good fermented carrots taste.

 

Nothing affects the garlic and parsley.

I was able to harvest quite a bit of parsley,

so it was washed, chopped and added to a freezer container

for use in all kinds of dishes.

The garlic is due for picking in May. 

It will grow substantially once spring comes around.

 

The blueberry plants are budding,

so I'm not sure if that will affect production.

This will be our first year with these plants,

as they were installed last spring.

Hopin' for bowls o' berries!

 

 Our sweet next door neighbor gifted us with two varieties of azaleas.

They both get quite tall, 

so I'll have to be careful about where they are transplanted.

 

 

 It's unbelievable, but the California poppies

are still looking gorgeous all through these cold snaps.

They have really filled out since they were seeded here in the spring.

 

The yarrow, as well, seems so cold tolerant.

This is one of the best plants for pollinators,

and I think more will be added to the property.

 

I worked on a new and improved version of our suet feeders,

by adding two side pieces of scrap wood,

to keep the suet from falling out.

They are working like a charm,

except that the one hung in front of the kitchen window

was knocked down and half of it was hauled away, 

no doubt by some rascally squirrels.

Ah well, back to the drawing board!

We are still getting no eggs, 

so I think that means that these girls

are just freeloading from now on.

Whatchagonnado?

They are part of the family now,

so they'll be here until their time comes.

 

How's your winter garden coming along?