(satirical, sort of)
It was certainly a cruel joke to wake up to 6” of cold, wet, heavy snow in mid-April. I wouldn’t complain if this was a one-off, but sadly it’s not. And the long-range forecast is calling for night temperatures below zero degrees next week; like, Come On!!! I have seeds that should be in the dirt by now!
Foraging for fiddleheads and horsetail shoots used to be a late March adventure; not anymore. We’re out there everyday checking and not a single fiddlehead yet. And all it takes is a couple of warm days and you’re S.O.L. too late.
Hardy Garlic doesn’t care…
Fortunately, the Garlic seems to have enjoyed this white stuff. They look so perky... or, are they frozen ??
Cool Finds...
Regardless, I still love this time of year being back in the gardens; probably my favourite place on this planet. This is also the only time of the year when everything is bare and hidden treasures can be found. An example are these cedar rails that were collected from our forest last spring. After baking in the summer sun, they look fantastic.
Adaptation...
Of course, weather patterns are constantly changing. The first 3 years growing here were quite easy with beautiful spring weather, hot summer nights and glorious summer rains. It was a perfect combination. But that all changed after 2012, and according to my gardening notes, it’s gotten much more challenging. Which is why some investments have been made to accommodate.
This off-grid she-shed is outfitted a with a solar-unit to power heat mats and grow lights for all our homegrown seedlings. We will also be erecting a 10’ greenhouse this year to shelter all our pepper plants so they grow luscious and gorgeous like in years' long gone by.