I just checked the weather report and we’re in for clouds and a high of 49 degrees today. I figure by the end of the day the remaining snow will have melted and the sap will be flowing in the buckets again. And thank goodness for that. Is this already the First Signs of Spring?
So far we’ve only collected about 5 gallons of sap. I’m aiming for at least 40 by the time this whole thing is over. I figure if we can collect at least 40 gallons of sap, we’ll end up with 1 {very expensive} gallon of pure maple syrup and well, how much can you really ask for when all you’ve got is 2 maple trees to tap?
Either all those mini daffodil bulbs I planted to line the walkway rotted over the winter… or they’re still asleep. I’m anxious to find out.
The oregano is coming back to life again though.
And my Christmas wreath is still up. 🙂
The first sign of spring! The daffodils we planted under the large pine tree are starting to peek through the soil.
Although I had to to squint to find them.
Last summer I planted a bunch of lupin seeds in some recycled nursery buckets. I wonder if they survived the winter. If they did, I’m going to plant a nice long row of them up by the roadside for a splash of color.
And last but not least, a picture of the lasagna garden I started last summer. There’s so much possibility beneath those layers, I’m still not sure what I’m going to plant out there.
Maybe the three sisters {corn, dried beans and squash} or maybe a giant patch of sunflowers. Only time will tell.
On the agenda for today:
- Plant pink celery seeds
- Dye wool {pumpkin}
- Make rice krispie treats 🙂
How about YOU? Are you starting to get excited for spring? Are your daffodils in bloom yet? I think we might have at least another month or so to go here.
Have a great day everyone,
~Mavis
Linda Practical Parsimony says
My daffodils are about spent. The tulips will finally bloom this week. The redbuds and dogwoods are glorious. It was 80F for four days last week. Then, it went down to 27F and snowed one night. It was gone by noon. I love spring and summer and the heat.
Linda Practical Parsimony says
How do I get to week 10, 2022?
Pauline in Upstate NY says
At risk of bursting your maple syrup visions, you are nearing the end of the sap season. To get good flow of the best quality sap, you need daytime highs above freezing and nighttime lows *below* freezing. Once the nighttime times stay above freezing, you start to get bud growth on the trees, and the quality and taste of the sap change, making it unsuitable for syrup. Monitor it closely, looking for cloudiness, and taste it, too; if the sap doesn’t taste good, neither will the syrup.
J in OH-IO says
My daffodils are just starting to peek up out of the soil as well as the tulips! Happy spring is on the way and seeing the beautiful flowers bloom! I hope your lupine survived the winter because I’m interested in seeing how they grow and bloom. I thought about planting them ever since visiting Prince Edward Island years ago, but I am concerned they will spread. Any advice on growing lupine?
Jill A says
I’m anxious to see if your lupins survived. I’m not a gardener but if it works for you I might give it a try.
Diana says
Daffodils and tulips, etc. are in full bloom. I’ve been picking and putting bouquets in the house for a few weeks.
Hellebores have been blooming since January and are STILL beautiful.
English and snap peas are climbing up their trellises.
Almost all of the seeds I’m going to plant have been started and most are up. Now the challenge is to keep them alive until planting time – which will be in the next couple of weeks.
If I don’t get stuff in early, then the heat hits and I’m out, sweating like crazy in the humidity and heat, watering alot and trying to get a harvest. This year I’m going a little early and keeping my fingers crossed.
BTW – are you going to get chickens? You’ve got the space for free ranging now and I wondered if you were going to start it up.
Susan in SoCal says
My freesias are blooming and the crepe myrtle shrubs are leafing out. High today forecast is 79. Spring is upon us. Roses bloomed most of the winter so didn’t get them pruned in January like usual.
Linda Sand says
I once saw a living history demo of planting the three sisters. They put a fish in the bottom of each hole they dug. Fertilizer?
LindaT says
Yes fertilizer. I once had the intention of putting some fish from the freezer in to fertilize my roses. I figured the frozen cooked fish would add water as it thawed, along with nutrients. After carefully digging it in, I found that what I had thought was cooked crappie was actually a package of turnip. Can’t say enough about importance of marking freezer stuff well!
Mavis Butterfield says
I wonder if lobsters would work? We seem to have a lot of thoes around here.
Mel says
We’ve used shrimp scraps and shells (saved in the freezer throughout the year) with our tomatoes in the past as part of a biodynamic planting approach, and it can work very well, but it sort of depends what the soil is like to begin with as to whether or not it’s a good idea. If there’s plenty of nitrogen in the soil to begin with (either through other amendments or the fact that it’s a new bed), it’s easy to overdo the nitrogen by adding fish, especially since it’s not really a time release kind. So, after a few years we learned to skip the shrimp/fish when we add leafgro to top off the soil or otherwise just have plenty of nitrogen. We find the other amendments in the biodynamic approach (time-release fertilizer, vermicompost, phosphorus, compost tea, etc.) are more in demand for our soil most years.
Cindy Miller says
I am happy to report my tulips, daffodils, and snowdrops are up about 1 inch. Yay! My Christmas wreath is still up too. I was thinking about it and I think I will leave it up until just before Easter.
Mavis Butterfield says
Everyone does that here and I think it’s hilarious.
Dianne says
I am in zone 6A (central Ohio) just as you. My mini daffodils are up about 3″, but my regular daffodils are about 6″. HH put the planters with the tulip bulbs in the shed this year (for some unknown) reason and advised today they have buds on them. We have a good size window in the shed that faces south. Oh well, much too cold out to put them outside yet, as they normally bloom in mid May. I’ll just have to cut and bring them in. Very excited to see the crocus up and blooming. I feel like a giddy teenager when spring rolls around everyday. We are expecting highs in the 70’s this week, I think a touch of snow early next week? I’ll take it!
Lori King says
My dad an avid gardener, planted one row of flowers on the end of the garden facing the house and the other rows were his vegetables. It was very pleasant to look at that way!
Allison says
If you’re not familiar with it check the lovely children’s book Miss Rumphius, about a an old librarian who travels around the world, and then when she can no longer travel she spreads lupine seeds all along the roads of her town. I love lupines!!!!
Lorraine Burns says
I think that they were delphiniums or larkspur. 🙂 I love to read that book to first and second graders.
Susie says
Veggies AND sunflowers in the lasagna patch. Sunflowers for the people of Ukraine. <3
Jeanine says
I’m including sunflowers in my three sisters bed because it’s the national flower of Ukraine. It means I’m standing with the people of Ukraine.
Mary says
In New Brunswick (Canada, not New Jersey) where I grew up lupins line the highway edges in the spring. I’ve brought a bit of that to the west coast, and when my lupins go to seed, I strew the pods all along our frontage road. I’ve got at least 200 feet of blooms happening now.