Old Man Winter Does Not Want To Let Us Go Gardening: Calumet Region 2008 Spring Is Here But, Where?

The garden centers are fully stocked in preparation for breaking weather. We had a little sunshine and some warmer days too. Old Man Winter is not ready to give it up. They say we could get up to 3 or 4 inches of the dreaded white stuff in the next 36 hours. I do not care for any more THANK YOU!

Mother is coming home from a winter in Nevada where she was able to enjoy milder temperatures. Her flight is Sat. March 22, and it is looking like she will also get one last dose of snow to start the spring out white. I am utilizing the, hopefully, LAST crappy days to finish up some clearing and pitching inside the house. I did make a trip to a local garden center and picked up some seeds.

My garden sorta works in conjunction with a friends garden. He plants tomatoes so I usually only put out one or two plants myself. I trade things I grow for some of his produce. This helps both of us out, with our limited gardening spaces. He grows all of the large ones that are best to eat fresh, for slicing. I will make sure to photograph his garden in progress through this year.

I had one Cherry Tomato plant, in a large pot when we moved here. It dropped plenty of seeds as cold weather hit that year. Now, we have all of the Cherry Tomatoes we will ever need. Each spring I transplant the ones I want to keep and pot a bunch up for friends and family to take to their gardens. I like to grow some Roma tomatoes for freezing too.

I have been working on produce that costs more to purchase in the store. I also try to grow what we like to eat the best. That is how I decide what I will plant.

To give you an idea of what I mean. Here are some examples.

• Plant Wax Beans and purchase Green Beans during peak season
• Plant Oriental Pea Pods (very expensive and we love them)
• Plant Strawberries, they will not produce the first year but will pay for themselves in the second year.
• This year I am putting out Red Raspbery bushes. I plan to compensate the extra cost of the bushes by planting flowers from seed instead of buying potted annuals.
• Red Potatoes are a staple in my garden
• Grow your own plants instead of purchasing potted ones

I consulted my Farmers Almanac to make my plans for what I will get done in the next few weeks. Below I have made my list of the things I plan to accomplish.Then I checked out the best days to get the work done. Remember that I like to do everything I can "by the moon". There is an Outdoor Planting Table on pages 232-233, of the almanac. I like to use this as a guide. I also follow the suggestions on page 228 under the heading, Gardening by the Moon's Sign.This is handy to refer to when, you do not have time available on the prefered days, that are suggested in the Outdoor Planting Table.

My List Looks Like This ........................The Old Farmer's Almanac says:

• Trim the Barberry bushes ................Mar. 27,28 to discourage growth, This is what I want to do for maintenance reasons
• Plant seeds for cool weather crops.....Apr. 11,12
• Plant potatoes.................................Mar. 24,25
• Turn the compost pile
• Clean up the flower beds ..................Mar. 29,30
• Clean up the garden beds..................Mar. 29,30