Thank you to everyone who chimed in yesterday with suggestions about the power surge we had, the HH said they were very helpful. We didn’t get a call back from the electrician yesterday so the HH will try him 1 more time and then move on to the next guy {good times}. I will share with you our experience for Late March Gardening in Coastal Maine – Planting Zone 6a.
In other news… the artichoke seeds I planted on the 15th are beginning to pop through the soil. 🙂
And the weather was so nice yesterday that we worked outside for a bit before the wind picked up.
The HH is on a mission this spring to get the limbs on all our trees trimmed to about the 5 foot mark so it will make it eaiser for him to mow underneath them this summer {also, because he saw this done at a golf course he drove by and think it gave the grounds a nice and tidy look}.
I think it’s fair to say that the sap collecting season is over. 🙁 Or that our 2 maple trees gave all that they could. The temperatures have been ideal for the past 3 days and we haven’t collected a drop {and we have 7 buckets!}.
I guess this means “pulling out the taps” will be on the HH’s honey do list this week.
Oh well. If we’re lucky, with the 9 gallons of sap we collected we should get about a quart of maple syrup when we boil it down {which we’ll do the next time The Girl is up here}.
In other gardening news… so far there aren’t any signs of the garlic bulbs, daffodils or tulips bulbs I planted last fall. Back when we lived in Washington state, daffodils bloomed in March.
Here in Mid-Coast Maine it’s more like May {which seems so weird to me!}.
My row of chives is up and thriving though…
And my row of oregano is coming back to life as well.
And the peonies!!! They’re well on their way too. I’m especially thrilled about those because last fall, I planted 6 new peony crowns. So far, 3 of the 6 are beginning to show signs of breaking through the soil. Yee-Haw.
Maybe in another year or two I’ll be swimming in them and be able to cut a few bouquets to bring inside.
Spring, it’s finally here, and I couldn’t be more excited.
So what’s happening in YOUR garden these days? Is everything still covered in snow, or have you already started planting? Curious minds want to know.
Have a good one,
~Mavis
Mel says
Our daffodils have been blooming for a few weeks, but they sometimes bloom as early as late January if we have a warm winter. They are taking a beating though since our stray cat thinks they make great toys (she sits on her hind legs and boxes them with her front paws). We also have allium bulbs that are popping up but not yet blooming that we planted last year, and we have pansies that bloomed all winter.
We’re taking it a little easier on gardening since I can’t do as much this year. I ordered a bunch of plant starts instead of starting stuff from seed, and my husband will do most of the planting. But, since I redesigned our herb bed to be a modular container garden last year, he should just have to pop new seedlings in the ready to go pots instead of having to do any weeding or bed prep.
Linda says
Planting season where I live doesn’t begin until the end of May. I do have plants seeded, and so far tomatoes, onions and peppers are growing, along with flowers and herbs.
Our weather has been very spring-like these past several days, but winter returns for another round.
What variety of artichokes do you plant? I’ve never grown them. Do you plant Chile peppers, and if so, what variety?
Laura reinhart says
We thought we lost our daffodils when we had our front yard relandscaped with new borders and a front patio, but several dozen little darlings have popped up (my son and I planted 400 a few years ago) they are coming up in small drifts of about a dozen, looks so much better than the original planting. Our garlic hasn’t come up yet. Two years ago I bought nursery bulbs which came up through the snow and produced measly bulbs. Last fall I ordered from a nursery that carries garlic specific to our zone 5a. Maybe that is why they are still sleeping. Hopefully we will have a great garlic harvest.
Margo says
I’ve planted lots of basil, sunflowers, green and wax beans, lots of tomatoes,cantaloupe and honeydew melon. Zucchini will be planted out next week, and I’m starting some butternut and delicata squash. Red and gold potatoes are coming in as well. Going to be 90 degrees here and very dry today. I’ll have to give my little plants some extra water and love today.
Donna Knight says
My buttercups have been blooming for a few weeks, love them. I have picked up sticks and cleaned out my garden beds. ready for warm weather.
laura says
i moved in december so my beds are still in pieces laying “kind of close” to where they will be rebuilt. the (green stalk) vertical planters are refreshed and mostly replanted with strawberries and the the potatoes are ready to be tucked in, though their buckets aren’t quite ready yet…something else to do this weekend!! can’t wait to get dirty again!!
Julie says
In Southern Wisconsin, I am trying to build a greenhouse and doing a bit of cleanup and prep in the garden. Seed starts are going in the house. I’m so happy to get started with this year’s garden.
Tracy says
In my southern NY (zone 6-7) garden, the early daffs are up and open, and the later varieties are just showing buds. I have over 1,400 (!!!) dahlia tubers to pot into gallon pots but I’m stalling on this as long as possible since I have to keep the pots stacked in my garage until it’s warm enough outside to get them going and well, 1,400 is a lot of pots. I’ve started the first four of what will end up being about 45 trays of seedlings for both vegetables and annual flowers. Although I have a ton of work ahead of me, I love this season and just love tucking into gardening again after a warm and cozy winter in front of the fire every night.
lisa says
What did you plant your artichoke seeds in?
Mavis Butterfield says
I used a Jiffy Greenhouse with peat pellets. https://amzn.to/3tyOzEv
Jamie says
I planted peas, lettuce, radishes, and sorrel in the ground this week (zone 7b). I have kale, cabbage, nasturtium, marigold, and pepper starts under the grow lights right now. They will be hardened off and planted in a week or so.
Julia Tracey says
Two things:
1) I didn’t know artichokes came from seeds. I don’t know why I didn’t put that together. Doh!
2) I consider myself a successful gardener if I can cut some flowers and still have leftover flowers in the yard. I am enjoying my second bouquet of daffodils in the low Sierra of Northern California (2500 feet up).
Mary says
Another good reason to keep your trees trimmed up from the ground is to prevent a forest fire from easily climbing up the tree and crowning. Might not be so important in Maine but here in the dry interior of British Columbia, it’s a very wise move.
Denise says
I live in southeast Tennessee and it is still too early to do much in the garden. We usually have a couple more frosts coming. My husband did get two plots plowed and one is partially tilled so I could plant onions this past Monday. I also sowed radish seeds. Each plot is about 50 feet wide and 175 feet long. One plot will be sown with sunflower seeds and planted with pumpkins. The other plot is for vegetables and we grow lots and lots of those.
It is a really busy season for us but after things are preserved in some fashion, normal life returns pretty quickly.
Judith DeWitt says
No flowers yet, Mavis? Here in Southern Ohio (6A) the forsythia, red bud, white pear trees ( the one’s introduced years ago because they were “sterile” and turned out to be invasive), dogwoods AND daffodils / narcissus etc. are all in bloom. My daffodils came up this year, but are only on 4 inch stems! So pretty, dainty and different than in past years with no idea why.
I am currently “cooking” my straw bales to get them ready for planting probably the first of April. But I’m planting my kitchen garden (in ground) this week.
Determined to eat fresh veggies from the garden instead of the store this year. Tracking the results to prove to my hubby we’ll save in the long run. So happy for you that your HH is on board!
Diana says
Tulips and daffs are in full GLORIOUS color right now. I’m bringing in bouquets every few days.
My hellebores have been blooming since Jan and are winding down now.
English peas and snap peas are happily climbing their trellises – hoping to have a harvest soon.
Looking to till the ground where the potatoes will go in the next couple of days and get them planted over the weekend.
Some of my seeds are up and growing and JUST about ready to go in the ground.
Quite a few of the seeds I’ve sown have not come up (most were old seed that I was using up hoping for a few germinations) and I’ve resown with fresh seed.
Our last frost date is within the next couple of weeks and from what the weather channel is showing, our last evening in the 30’s should be Sat. I’ll be planting quite a bit next week. YEEHAW!
Robin Martin says
My daughter and I put out peas, carrots, and radish 2 days ago I was als going to get in my spinach but the rain has kept me from being very productive in that area! Maybe today?
All of my tomatoes are looking good in the greenhouse, will soon be starting other seeds there.
Kstt says
No, no, no!
Leave the taps in.
If you get another hard freeze, and you could, it could start them again.
We never took ours down until 15 April.
ABIGAIL BARNETT says
Don’t feel bad, we are in Aroostook County and we still have three ft of snow on the ground. Moved here from the PNW as well, hard knowing it is fully spring in Oregon.
I can’t wait to see my chives… and dirt… Just want to see some dirt!
The good news is it is also too cold for ticks up here.
Mavis Butterfield says
Ha! I was thinking about the ticks and black flies the other day too. 🙂 Yes, too cold for them, which is a good thing.