Gardening Fever

Here in the mountains the temperature dropped down to freezing over the weekend. (Snowed at our house all day April 4!) This is called "Dogwood Winter". This is because the dogwoods bloom out shortly after this cold snap. At present our yard smells heavenly because the forsythia and crabapples are blooming profusely. We had to prune most of the crabapples last fall. The guy who trimmed them brought the cut branches down to the parking area and I picked crabapples off the limbs for almost 2 hours. It made up into a lovely mauve colored crabapple butter. This was the first time I was ever able to pick any!

     This is the time to start some of our cruciferous  vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage are in the ground as well as our onion sets. Garlic is also in because we were given a huge load of them. Someone was digging theirs up for a house remodeling and they were in the way. We put some in every bed.
     According the almanac, April 8^th is the day to sow lettuce so guess what the husband will be doing in the morning?
    Did you know that your seeds do not need light to germinate? We started some trays of plants in the chicken incubator - usually takes about 3 days for tomatoes! After they are above ground you need to keep them warm and lighted.
     Recently we were asked how we garden. Well it a combination of permanent raised beds and companion planting. After my husband's back surgery, we realized that he did not need to be getting down on his knees but he loves to garden.
     We built a series of raised beds 8' X 4' X 2'. Using some rat wire (some call this "welded wire) screens, we would sift the dirt through these by steadily raking a hoe over the  screens. Any rocks and weeds that were left were thrown into the chicken yard. In this way we can sit on the edge of the bed and weed. Because we never walk on this area, the dirt is soft and easily weeded. Plants thrive in this gentle soil, and at the year's end they pull free easily, making clean up a snap! In the late fall we also use those screens to dry seeds or cayenne pepper.
     In the center of each bed we placed an 8" flue tile  and filled that with dirt as well. It was in these that I planted my mints: apple mint (also known as woolly mint). chocolate mint, lemon bergamot mint, orange mint, peppermint, and spearmint. There are, I believe, 11 more varieties of mint and I can't wait to have them all! Because the mints will spread almost like wildfire, you have to contain the roots. The flue tiles have worked superbly in this aspect and look rather nice too.
     In addition to the 8 long beds, we also built 4' X 4' X 2'  beds for the herbs I use most in my canning. These do (or will) include parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary  and cilantro. In the center of these, the flue tiles hold lavender. I try to routinely pick a couple handfuls of an herb to dry each week. In this way I keep the harvest regulated and my shelves supplied. A few years ago I treated myself to an electric dehydrator because we had had such a wet year that nothing was drying in the house. A bonus is that the air is fragranced naturally with whatever I am drying, which is delightful most of the time (but a bit overpowering when we dry the cayenne peppers!)
     We have pots of marigolds and nasturtiums to lure bugs away from the edible plants. We also rely heavily on the advice of companion planting guide Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte.
     Despite these sunny warm days and freezing cold nights, we are not fooled. We will wait til mid May to plant the more delicate vegetables and thank God for letting us live here in the mountains.