Gardening
Gardening 2012 | Print |
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Written by Administrator   
Saturday, 05 May 2012 20:56

May 29, 2012 - Our main(e) garden is doing well. This topsy-turvy weather has allowed us to get a much earlier start this year. I have double rows (60 feet long) of peas, carrots, beets, turnips and spinach. Interesting how weeds like to grow right next to the sprouting vegetables. Could it be that they are related?

The four cold frames along the side of the house are already providing us with spinach and will soon offer up lettuce. Squash and cucumber seedlings are now be transplanted.

Looking forward to a summer and fall of fine, healthy eating.




May 5, 2012 - What a strange year 2012 has been. Summer temperatures in March (84 degrees!), February temperatures in April and now Aprill temperatures in early May.

Regardless, the seeds are in for the early summer garden - peas, spinach (lots of it), beets, carrots, lettuce and turnips. The soil was bone-dry until the third week in April.

bees2012This is the second season for our beehives (one is ours and the other belongs to our neighbor) and they were placed on our properties in mid-April. Our bee keeper, Erin, said the seasons are nearly a month ahead of themselves. Last year, we harvested 15 pints of honey from each hive - the remainder going to Erin and the bees for their winter vacation.

Just how exciting is it to have our own honey? On a scale of 1-10, it's a 20!

Last Updated on Thursday, 02 May 2013 09:55
 
March, 2011 - Spinach & Lettuce Re-emerge! | Print |
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Written by Administrator   
Tuesday, 08 March 2011 10:51

 march11

Ah, yes, Spring is defintely getting closer even though there's still 8 inches of snow remaining on the ground. Proof? I took a  look inside our cold frames and found last year's crop sprouting afresh.

Even the spinach seeds, which I planted too late in the fall to harvest, survived and are now growing.

I was Skyping with one of my friends who has recently retreated to Florida for a couple of weeks and he said the temperature down there was likely to hit 85 degrees today - much too hot to grow spinach and lettuce. That's why we live in Maine!!!

Last Updated on Thursday, 02 May 2013 10:02
 
Final Cold Frame Harvest | Print |
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Written by Administrator   
Sunday, 28 November 2010 16:38

nov10Now that Thanksgiving is past, it's time to wrap up the cold frame gardening for the year.

The fall-planted lettuce and spinach are now headed to our table as the nights are headed into the 20s. Nothing like fall-fresh greens!

I had also started some additional spinach in a seed container in mid-October, but the lack of 10+ hours of sunlight brought their growth to a halt. I've burried the container in one of the cold frames with the seedling showing above the soil. Let's see if they, like the other plantings, come back in February.

UPDATE: Final, final harvest was on December 15!

Last Updated on Friday, 17 December 2010 15:48
 
Fall Gardening | Print |
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Written by Administrator   
Sunday, 12 September 2010 07:57

Now that September is firmly established, I've been harvesting the carrots, beets and potatoes. Most of the carrots and potatoes went into containers of Debbi's famous carrot soup which will warm our stomachs and souls throughout the winter. Since I plant double rows of 60' in length there's a lot left to be processed.

Yesterday, we picked more than 100 apples from our five small trees - Delicious, Courtland, McIntosh. A tastey apple pie soon emerged from the oven - what a pleasure.

In addition, I have now planted my four cold frames with spinach and lettuce seeds- hoping to get a crop before December sets in. They will then go dormant only to re-energize in early February.

What a way to live!

Last Updated on Sunday, 12 September 2010 08:06
 
June Peas Doing Well | Print |
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Written by Administrator   
Tuesday, 15 June 2010 18:57

 

junepeas
{jcomments on}Ah, the early planting is producing a bountiful harvest.

The peas , which were sown when the soil was ready to work in April , are now providing a daily picking. I have two, double rows of 25' each or 100' of peas.

They are particularly sweet this year in large part due to the rain. We enjoy them at dinner but freeze most of them for use later in the year.

Green beans were planted over the weekend.

Last Updated on Sunday, 12 September 2010 08:08