No Snowstorm here

     Sorry about all that snow you guys are getting down South.  Winter Storm Achilles missed us completely here in Northern Minnesota. 


May 2, snow finally gone

     The plants are all in the greenhouse now.  On nights when it looks like the temperature will go down to freezing or below, I turn on a supplementary electric heater as a precautionary move.  Last Sunday and Monday I re-potted the cabbage and broccoli and planted radishes and potatoes in the greenhouse.  I also tried transplanting the carrots I started earlier into half of a 1'x2' planting box, planting carrot seed in the other half.
     We are now gathering plenty of eggs.  Two days after I switched the chickens from corn to laying mash, they started laying four to five eggs a day instead of one or two.  Next week it's time to clean the henhouse and put in new straw.

Coming Soon

     The moon is in the fourth quarter on May 2nd, so besides cleaning the chicken coop, I plan to get manure down in the garden and till up the area where I'll soon be planting early crops like greens and root crops.  I also hope to get some weeding done in the perennials.  Lord willing, we'll see a little rise in temperatures and I'll start to plant some hardy crops outside at the new moon on May 9th.

Thursday Morning Update

     Yesterday I turned the heater off in the greenhouse during the day, and forgot to turn it back on in the evening.  It was a stupid move, as the heater is thermostatically controlled, and turns off anyway when the temperature gets up to about 40 degrees F.  Anyway, the temperature last night was a few degrees below freezing, about 28 F, and I lost some tomatoes, and squash.  I may have to add starting a few new plants to my schedule in the next week.
     On a more positive note, my friend Dean stopped over today and left me some beautiful plants.  He gets his seeds from Heirloom Seeds (www.heirloomseeds.com), and does a wonderful job starting them off.  The tomato in the center is a "black from Tula", originating from the Ukraine.  I forgot the name of the pepper on the left and the basil on the right, but I'll get those next time I see Dean.  He's going to bring me more tomatoes next week to replace some of those I lost.  Win some, lose some, it all balances out.