Early Garden Work

Spring is coming one of these days. The snow melted (well... 90%), the crocus are blooming. The air is still winter cold but the sun is strong. The garden beds in back were finally snow-free and soft enough for me to stake the black plastic sheeting down.

Usually I do this in the Fall so I don't have to worry about a million weeds in the Spring, but this year we struggled with yard cleanup with my injured ankle. I've been carefully watching the garden so I could put down the plastic as soon as possible. It will not only prevent weeds, but it will also warm the soil.

I also planted spinach seeds. For the past two springs I have planted spinach and nothing has come up, but I think both years I sowed the seeds too late and the soil was already too warm. This year I was breaking up ice chunks in the dirt, so if they don't sprout this year I might give up. (Though 3 years ago we had a fantastic spinach crop, so I know it's now hopeless in the right conditions...)

We still have a ton of leftover yard cleanup to do too. Dead plants, grass and leaves to clean up, deer netting and fencing to fix, fig trees to unwrap. Everything needs a thick fresh layer of mulch. The lawn needs crabgrass preventer (very soon!) and fertilizer. I just need the air to warm up a little bit more so we don't freeze when we stay outside too long!