It May be Spring

I've figured out why they call this month "May"  It may be spring. It may be winter. Some days it feels like fall.  Its actually snowing now even though its in the 40s.  It is overcast and raw and the sun only shines every few days but you know its on its way OUT and not IN.  So it is almost tolerable.  You make a little list of outside things that you want done and get those done and then head back inside.  

I wanted to try this neat looking lavender cauliflower but the seeds took forever to arrive.  When the seeds finally came, my cauliflower plants were already transplanted.  But it didn't take them too long to catch up.  They're small but they are out in the big world.  The big cold world.  Luckily they are used to the unheated basement so they are not too coddled.

I didn't want to cover the entire bed with a shade cloth so I used the little wire baskets from the Dollar Store to shelter them from the wind and sun.  If we ever get any.

I made an addition to my row cover system. 

I put these pipe straps at the end to secure the netting.

They will gather the netting on their own for awhile as you make adjustments

Then a clamp secures it.  This keeps the knot from blowing back in against the end plants and also lets you put some pressure on the end hoop to keep it straight.

The Easy Out Earth Staples I use for the floating row covers are too small for the netting but the pipe straps and clamp works well.

I am getting ready to plant potatoes in grow bags.

The peas are doing their thing

The old lettuce seed I scattered as ground cover are doing better than their counterparts in the cold frame.

I have a couple of flats of annuals under cover.  As I make my rounds of the greenhouses if I see a variety I want I grab it whether I am ready for it or not.  They would barely fit in the cold frame if I tried.  These are flats of zinnias, calendula and nasturtium and all are at least germinated.

My pear tree is turning into a pretty happy little tree.  It is putting out a lot of new growth and the Bartlett and Bosc limbs flowered.  The other limbs are Summercrisp and Seckel.  This little pear tree has weathered some challenges.  After its rude introduction to our climate, it had some fire blight on two branches that had to be pruned out.  It looks like it is really going to try.  I hope it does well this year.

The Surecrop strawberries are looking great and flowering well.  I fertilized them with Tomato Tone on the theory that both tomatoes and strawberries are berries and they should need the same N-P-K ratio.  If I come across any Berry Tone I'll pick some up.

Thanks to the world wide trade interruptions due to Covid, some things have been hard to find.  If I can buy something locally instead of shipping it in, I will pay a couple bucks extra.  But the options are pretty limited around here this year.  I've had to ship in gallons of Neptune's Harvest fertilizer and Repels-all deer repellent.  And then I had to order in Milorganite because the only stores around here that carry it are Tractor Supply and they just can't get it.  The one in the next county had it but it sold out fast.  At least, so far, the Espoma fertilizers are available and reasonable.

I've gotten all of the perennials fertilized and sprayed for deer.  Now I have to plant up the whiskey barrels.  I have some shrubs and perennials still shipping in and even though I've filled my allotted space for dahlias, I went and ordered some more on sale.  If push comes to shove I have a lot of pots to use!