Seasons and Seasons of Cold Wet Weather

Wow! I can't believe it has actually been 3 cold, wet seasons since I tried to start this little blog and attention has been mostly just on my gardening last summer. I could have put in a few posts through these dark days, about fall deer season....(which was a flop for me, but I had the pleasure of butchering my husband, and brother's deer). Along those lines, my deer skinning and salting skills are definitely improving, and although I didn't get any further in the process than simply fleshing and salting, it does look nice and workable for next season......

Winter was just filled with good hot food and lots of daydreaming about sunnier, warmer days....
I have been looking into canning and food storage, drying, bulk cooking, freezing and vacuum sealing.....(it's all relative, I tell you!)

But alas, I should have followed through on my indoor growing plans....here it is mid April and I have just set my tomato seeds in a few days back and still have no light! And the weather intends to stay poor for warm weather crops for a while....so maybe there is time!

I did try to throw in some sprouted potato, but I would be willing to bet that they rotted in the cold! I have some pea sprouts ( I intended to use as a early season cover crop) that are about 2 inches tall.....That is bed # 1...which is likely to be dug up in the near future and planted out with something different.
Bed #2 is prepared for cantelope and tomato when it is warmer. I have 12 little tomato pots seeded...6 italian heirloom, 6 amish paste...those were healthiest and tastiest of the 4 varieties from last year. I hope to get a few transplants when it warms up to supplement my varieties and hopefully make the harvest a little earlier.

BEST NEWS:

1. In the last few weeks I put in a dwarf lodi and a dwarf granny smith apple. I also put in a North Star Cherry. It is naturally dwarf and self fertile. I should be getting some flowering crab apples as well...hopefully that will cover my bases as far as pollen goes....

2. I put in 2 'nugget' hops rhizomes. One has already sprouted (it was the larger of the two).
I am already regretting not having the supports in!

3. I expanded my last garden bed, and dedicated it to my 20 Jersey Knight Asparagus crowns!!
there was only a half dozen or so out of the lot that were especially small...but they had sprouted! :( They are in their trenches, awaiting their next layer of soil and compost!!!

These things make me so happy!!!
I know it will be YEARS before I have fruit or asparagus spears, but the way I look at it, I have been waiting YEARS to plant a fruit tree, especially granny smith!! :) If I wait anymore YEARS without planting some food, that is that many more years I won't have done it!! SO there you have it....
Plans are expanding in my mind for more and more TREES, fruit for me and my little birdy friends. But the planting I have already done makes me very proud, and I can't wait to celebrate Arbor Day....but I plan to plant 10 trees instead of one!

Well, that is all for now....I will try to update more often!