Nature Said “Think Again” And I Listened

For some reason I felt that it wasn’t a good idea to plant the seeds outside yesterday evening. Today it has been snowing all day. I’m grateful I didn’t lose all those seeds to the weather.

While it’s true that March and April are fickle when it comes to the weather, I really did think we were past the stage where it’s snowing randomly. Clearly we’re not. Though with the environment being what it is, I don’t think any of us can really know what to expect from the weather or Mother Nature. We can hope for the best, hope for a good season, but ultimately we need to prepare for the worst. Make sure our plants are okay to withstand harsh rain, storms and strong wind. And have measures in place to protect them from drowing during such weather.

Patience is a virtue

I have been growing food for over a decade and I have been growing plants from seed from the very beginning. However, I am the same way every year. Just a few hours after starting seeds, I run back to them to see if there’s any development. And then I second guess things, wondering if I should have tried a different approach. All while reminding myself that it can take, even weeks for some seeds to germinate, and even more time will pass before they are viable seedlings.

Gardening is an excellent teacher in patience. It is also excellent exercise and very good for heart health.

Tomatoes or no tomatoes, that is the question

I didn’t want this season to get overwhelming and so I had decided not to plant tomatoes from seed. I still don’t think I will do do that. However, I was watching a gardening program yesterday and they described the varieties of tomatoes they were planting and how they’re said to taste. That made me think back on the joy I’ve received from harvesting and eating tomatoes straight from the garden every year. And I am not sure I can afford to pass that up. Thus, I have decided to figure out what type of tomatoes grow really well and produce a lot, and see if I can get a few examples of those. Once I have found one I am certain I like the taste and texture of, I will plant slices of it and get my tomato plants that way.

Alliums

Once spring is truly here – without frost and snow – I hope to find out that my garlic plants and onion plants have survived the winter and are growing well. Still, after being without a good supply of garlic and onions for so long, I have decided to plant onions, leeks, green onions and garlic in succession throughout the season. They might not all take, but I am okay with eating younger plants as they’re excellent in noodle dishes and soups.

The harvests I am looking forward to the most

Rhubarb, definitely. I bought more varieties and planted the baby plants back in 2022. Last year I replanted them all to give them more room to grow. So this season I expect a great harvest. I want to have enough to eat fresh and to freeze for rhubarb pie. Honestly, some fermented rhubarb soda would be great as well.

Ginger. I kept some plants in the soil over the winter. I haven’t checked if they survived or not since they’re in the greenhouse, but I hope they have. I’ll still plant a good amount more and I’ll plant ginger early this year. I want to make sure I have a big harvest so I can make a big ginger bug and stock up on ginger beer.

Asparagus. I have several different varieties and I get a little bit more asparagus every year. The latest varieties I purchased and planted back in 2022, so this year will be the first year I am allowed to harvest them. I expect a great asparagus season. They’ve all been well fertilised and some of them were replanted in larger containers last year.

Fruit and berries. I pruned all of my berry bushes and fruit trees last year and in all my years of gardening, I have never seen so many buds. I am going to see what flowers I can plant – apart from sunflowers – to attract pollinators. I do have seeds from a handful of flower varieties that I need to research and figure out how and where to plant. The berry variety I am looking forward to the most is pink blueberry and the fruit variety I am looking forward to the most is plum. My tree was badly damaged in a storm in 2021 and last year I cut it back, shaped it and fertilised it well. I hope this is the year the tree will bear fruit again.

Sunflowers. I grew sunflowers for the first time last year, and they grew so well. Most of them were about 2 metres tall and the flowers were delicious. I got a lot of tea from them and some flour as well. This year I am growing two or three varieties of them and I will be growing more than twice as many. They’re a good source of nutrients, they’re beautiful and they are excellent at attracting pollinators.

Mushrooms. I don’t yet know if any of the mycelium survived the winter. I hope it has just gone dormant like most plants in the winter. I would love being able to harvest mushrooms in my garden again. If push comes to shove, I’ll acquire more mycelium or get some grow kits and take them outside after the harvests.

What are you looking forward to growing and harvesting this season?

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