Garden Planning

We ordered some garden products from Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co. web site yesterday, ahead of planting time. This is the time of year when ambitions are high, and the pictures in seed catalogs produce visions of grandeur. A day of rain, then two two days with temperatures in the 60s have knocked back a little more of the snow in the yard and ice on the lake. Indeed, the area I glided across last month now looks like the surface of the moon --- a dull gray with darker gradients of pockmarks where some foot had traveled, an ice-fisher drilled through or where the sun just seemed to have more effect. I've always enjoyed having the goal of walking out to the island in winter, where our dogs could run around off the leash through the massive rock outcrops, the pine needle-strewn floor under cedars, in and among the barren mountain laurel. This winter has been especially harsh, with record snowfalls and snowpacks that tested the mettle of man and machine. But there is some consolation that Punxsutawney Phil seems to have proved correct in predicting an early spring.

I wanted to try some Blue Lake pole beans this year, after having less than spectacular results with a bush bean variety last summer and in a desire to conserve some space to use for other plants. I'm planning to rip some 2'x4's in half to make something like an 8' tall arbor structure with fencing material between posts for the beans on one side and some Straight-8 cucumbers on the other. Another family member wants to try some Savoy cabbage, and I'm keen on doing some of our own romaine lettuce --- note: not a so-called spring mix --- in a side planter. Otherwise, I'm planning on putting in some of the usual Roma and Celebrity tomatoes. And as usual, I've got the large strawberry planters that I use for herbs, which this year is going to feature more dill, which I'll be using in canning some pickles. We've been steadily going through the pickles I packed last summer and they've turned out great. I'm never certain about squash and zucchini here because I haven't had great success with it after an initial couple of weeks of harvest. The borer insects and a smut-like substance (probably fungal) gets at the leaves and whatever legumes do develop from that time forward go soft and brown at the end tips. Even the butternut squash, which is supposed to be resistant to many of the problems that plaque other legumes, didn't produce very well. So, I may decide to forgo the zucchini and squash this year. Lastly, I do some rows of spinach and Swiss chard every year --- those are two favorites in this house.

It'll be something to keep from chomping at the bit and start too soon. It's usually early- to mid-May before it's safe to start planting seeds or starter plants directly in the garden soil. Until then, the soil can be amended with compost, wood stove ashes, and a load of soil from the mushroom farm down in North Franklin. There's a lot to look forward to.