Early April Gardening in Mid Coast Maine
It may not look like spring has arrived here in Maine yet. However, plants are starting to pop through the soil here in the kitchen garden. This made me plan ahead my gardening in Mid Coast Maine..
The tulips and daffodils are about 3 inches high and I spotted the slightest hint of pink where the rhubarb crowns are. That moment I suspect in another week or so it will be time to get out there and plant the carrot and radish seeds.
I’ve already begun to harden off my onion and leek seedlings, and plan on getting those transplanted into the garden next week.
The chives have finally awoken from their winter slumber.
I started another flat of chives at the end of summer and will plant those along the front of the house next week.
We have more chives plants than we could ever use and it has blooms that are so pretty. I think having an extra row of them for ornamental purposes {and the bees!} will be a nice addition to the garden.
Parsnips!
Holy cannolis people, I totally forgot about the row of parsnips I decided to overwinter last fall.
I harvested four of them yesterday and plan on roasting them tonight along with some carrots and potatoes for dinner.
And the spinach I planted on 2/27 outside in an old plastic vinegar jug?
It’s up too! 🙂 This is my first attempt at winter sowing so I was pretty excited to see those little bits of green when I popped the lid off.
I have a ton of spinach seeds so I decided to plant a few more containers and stick them outside.
And I think it will be interesting to see how long it takes this next batch to break through the soil {the first batch, in freezing temperatures too about 5 weeks}.
I’m starting to run a little low on space indoors as I currently have 9 seed starting trays under grow lights or along the windows.
Yesterday I finally got my tomato seeds planted which may seem a little late. And since I won’t be setting my tomato plants out in the field until the end of May, I think I should be okay.
If the commune sized garden gets any bigger though, I may have to invest in a couple of rolling racks and some shop lights to accommodate all the seedlings next year.
Only time will tell I guess. 😉
One thing I know for sure though… Things are starting to warm up around here in Mid-Coast Maine. I think once we get past this weekend’s overnight freezing temps, it will be time to break out the garden tools and head on outside.
Oh my aching back… I can feel it already. 🙂
Gardening season. Ready or not… Here we go!
~Mavis
P.S. How’s the forecast where you are? Are you already planting? Or do you still have a ways to go yet? Curious minds want to know.
Diana near Atlanta says
It’s been crazy here in north GA. Temps fluctuate wildly – yest. was high of 86, this Sat will be 48. Because of that fluctuation over the last couple of months, the fruit trees bloomed, set fruit, then we had several nights in the 20s. So, no fruit. Thought my Mulberry tree had died – all leaves were dead – but it’s leafing out again.
Garlic planted last fall is doing fantastic – I’ve never had it grow so well. Have already harvested a few asparagus and see some ripe strawberries. Harvested the last of my Romaine a weed ago and the Swiss Chard is finally getting big. I grow carrots in pots and succession plant and have one pot just about ready to harvest.
All of the seeds I started a month or so ago are ready to plant – just waiting for this last cold day to go by. Onions and potatoes are planted. All that’s left is to start some herb seeds. I am determined to have most of my garden harvested by July and avoid the horrible heat this year.
Jane says
Do you dehydrate the chives? I use a LOT of dried chives in cooking.
Mavis Butterfield says
I did last year but didn’t use many of them. I’ll probably do it again this year and see how much I use.
Susie says
I’d add a bunch of dried chives to your beef stew & chicken soup you can. Seems like that would use up a lot of them. 🙂
Rosemary Calhoun says
I planted my garden (in the topless greenhouse) about 3 weeks ago and so far, everything is doing well. We had a horrible hail storm this past Monday and even that didn’t hurt the plants. The spinach got a little flat, but it is now perky back up. Our temps have started to get really warm (need the a/c), so we will see if my topless greenhouse plan works out.
wendy panozzo says
Here in So Cal I have my garden planted already. 8 Tomatoes in the ground,Nectarines are on the trees,Squash,Beets,Chard,Peppers. I think all the rain is gone for awhile but boy did it do wonders for the plants!
Peg says
Mavis, do you have time to write a post about grow bag gardening? Or can anyone offer a good resource to read up on it? This’ll be my first time trying it. Thought I was going to plant tomatoes and potatoes but decided on tomatoes and onions. The only things I grow from seed are sweet peas (planted last weekend right before we got a nice wet snow) and sunflowers.
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes, I will work on a post for you. 🙂
Peg says
Yay!! Thank you!
Margo says
It’s been cool and rainy here in So Cal leading into this spring, so instead of direct sowing I’m starting a lot of my spring/summer garden in the house this year. I did plant some lettuce outside under netting and that has come up and I have more in the house. My tomatoes, winter and summer squash have germinated and I up potted the tomatoes this week. Peppers are telling me it’s too cold for them yet. Dill, cilantro, chard, onions, scallions are still growing and I’m harvesting potatoes as well. All the peas have been harvested. I’m replacing the watering system next week to in-line drip. Gonna get busy now- the season is upon us!
HollyG says
Mavis – how is your germination rate with chives? I’ve planted two packages from two different companies and only five or so have actually sprouted. Any tips or tricks?
Mavis Butterfield says
Whenever I plant chives, onions or leeks, I always make sure and overseed. That’s the only trick I can think of.
HollyG says
Thanks – It looks like I should just keep trying :}
Pat says
Once you get a few going, they’ll begin spreading on their own and before long you’ll have tons. I planted one little store-bought pot of garlic chives several years ago. Now I have to pull them out by the handfuls to keep them from crowding out other plants.
Pam F. says
Considering we had snow two days ago things are starting to pop. All the stone fruit trees are budding out. Rhubarb is already about 10 inches tall, the chives are up and the raspberries are starting to leaf out. The peonies are showing their red crowns, succulents are all waking up, crocus all blooming as are all my hubbies daffodils. The peas are ready to go into the ground but the ground is far to wet to plant anything as of yet. Hoping for a couple of dry days here in S. Oregon.
Erin says
We built a two-tier PVC grow station & hang grow lights from it. Makes things nice & easy for storage during the off-season since it comes apart & fits in a rubbermaid tote.
Kathy says
Please show us, Erin 🙂
Cynthia P says
Do you use the chive flowers in your cooking? They are are wonderful addition to egg dishes and salads. They also make a great addition to butter.
Mary W says
I moved from Zone 9 to Zone 5b? This is my first Spring in 5b! I don’t even know what my house looks like in the spring. I am starting to see little things pop up here and there. I also tried winter sowing. It works, just takes a long time. My spinach looks similar yours. And the weather? Yikes. Here it is for this week:
Tues 28 18 snow, we had lots
Wed 39 21
Thu 52 30
Fri 63 36
Sat 67 38
Sun 73 42
Mon 80 46
Lord, have mercy!
Anyone else in 5b?
Sue S. says
About the only thing I have time for are a few cherry tomato plants in large urns at the back of my garage where it’s sunny enough. When we moved in to our house in 1976 friends gave us a bunch of chive plants. I stuck some of them in the ground where they still pop up every year. Another bunch have been sitting in a now-deteriorating planter, ignored for the most part and they are still producing. I think it’s time to give them a little attention, don’t you? Guess I didn’t inherit my dad’s gardening genes. Growing up we spent every summer night shucking corn, harvesting peas, green and wax beans, and tomatoes from our 1/2 acre garden. Then my mom would either can or freeze the harvest which kept our family of 7 fed through the winter. Those were the days that lifetime memories are made of.
Patti says
I’m in NE Florida and the garden is lush right now, kale , chard, lettuce, celery, onions, garlic, leeks, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli has gone to seed, cucumbers, beans, zucchini, watermelon & cantaloupe, eggplant ( a bunny has been nibbling on those 3 and my dill), peppers, tomatoes, winter squash, berries, herbs, flowers and citrus. It gets so warm and humid here during the summer, the garden slows down considerably.
Laura says
I have a question about the winter sown seeds-will you separate the seedlings or plant in a mass? Did you plant any flower seeds this winter? Just curious about the transplanting and were these jugs out in the open or covered with hay/mulch during the past few months? Thanks for any info-thinking about this for next season.
Mavis Butterfield says
Hi Laura,
The jugs have been out in the open just behind the garden gate. Some of the seeds I started {a few peppers, lettuce and flowers} will be seperated once {if} they get growing. The spinach though I’ll probably leave in the clumps they were planted in. This is the first year trying this method for me so I’m excited to see how it all unfolds.
Dawn says
We’re supposed to get into the upper 60’s next week, too. Goodbye, maple season! The weather looks maple-y between now and then though, so we should get one last hurrah. Deep inside I’m ready for the warmer weather.
I started my tomatoes yesterday, along with some broccoli, cabbage, and lettuce. My garden is still completely snow covered, but I have a feeling this next week is going to melt most of our snow. I’m really not sorry….
I dug up a parsnip in the fall because I was impatient to see how they had grown. I’ve only ever had parsnips in the spring, but I didn’t think it would taste too different. Let me tell you, the difference was incredible. Spring parsnips are so sweet. Started digging ours this week….yummmmm.
KC says
We’ve got tomato seedlings with their secondary leaves out, plus basil seedlings, but still keeping everything indoors until the temperature swings quit occasionally dipping below freezing (Oklahoma is wild; 90F to 30F in less than a week). Okay, *hopefully* we’ll put them out after that, instead of before like in 2021 when we got an unusually late freeze that killed the tomato plants to the ground – they regrew from the roots, but our tomatoes were… delayed… that year.