Mangoes, Plants, Hoops Houses, and Raspberries...
Cold wind go away!
Let the Spring sunshine come out today.
Is anyone else getting the itch to sow something? I've winter sown, I've prepared and potted clay and ceramic pots with the help of my lovely and sprite mother. Yet nothing is ready to go into the ground. We have had such sporadic weather this year that it's not worth moving full speed ahead because there will be losses. With my energy waning day by day (a myositis thing) I just don't have it in me to go all plantaholic out there just yet.
Unfortunately I have spoken to a couple family members who have given into the itch by scratching up the soil and putting plants in. They've both lost plants and are starting from square one re-sowing EVERYTHING!
YIKES!!!
Each year all gardeners/farmers worth their salt try to get a jump on the season. I am no different here... What I have learned to do to save myself valuable energy, sanity, and a few coins, is to watch, listen, and learn from nature. No doubt if you are a family member or close friend you have heard about my system of planting with the leaves... Not just leaves, but blooms as well.
In case you have found yourself planting too early I'll share my top 3 tips to save you next year which are:
- Cool weather plants and seeds go in when the ground warms up enough and the lilacs get their leaves and/or the cherry trees get their blossoms
- Have a plan for overly cold and chilly nights. If you have purchased plants like I have recently that are of the warm weather variety i.e. tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, prepare a coldframe, mini hoop house, or another space outdoors where the plants get sunlight but don't suffer from the chills.
- Don't depend on the weather man watch for the lilac blooms to fall before planting warm weather plants in the ground. Cherry blossoms will have dropped and started to fruit as well. Rhubarb is also ready to be eaten and tulip blooms are fading or have faded.
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Speaking of time and waiting to plant and sow things in the garden beds....
After eating mangoes with the family we had a discussion on how they grow, where they grow, and if we can grow them ourselves. This led to at least an hour of YouTube watching and a experiment that I hope to catalog consistently here on Garden Fuss. Below you can see step #1 in the process after enjoying the super delicious fruit that is : D
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Every year I write about our raspberry adventures. Everything from the extreme fatigue after hours of picking over several weeks, the various critters a buzz and keeping the plants healthy. As well as all the helpers the I bribe with sweet treats such as buckles, trifles, and pies.... Well today I wanted to share a pic of the super easy, tasty, and worthwhile treat called a Pretzel Salad. This recipe I was given by a close family friend. It can be made healthy-ish but where is the fun in that? It can be made with your fruit of choice which in our case happens to have been made out of one of several bags of raspberries I still have in the freezer from last year.
- Pretzels
- Sugar
- Cream Cheese
- Cool Whip
- Raspberries
- Gelatin packet
- Butter (melted)
This is refrigerated dessert which I don't have much experience making per say but I do highly recommend it. Now I do realize that there is no actual "salad" in this dessert. But with cold weather or warm you just can't go wrong with fresh fruit, family, and dreams of getting out and about in the sunshine.
Happy planting and planning!
Tina
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