Last Frost

It is difficult to know when winter’s last frost will occur. I believe it passed, and especially after Mother’s Day, risk of frost will be minimal. The garden is as far behind as it has been since we moved to Big Grove Township in 1993 and dug the first plot the following year.

Under row cover almost everything looked good. Radishes and spinach are up. The transplanted lettuce and Pac Choi are doing well. One type of radish seed did not germinate so I planted lettuce seedlings in its place. One can never have enough lettuce. I weeded and rearranged the row cover supports to make enough for a second row for herbs and vegetables needing protection from flea beetles like Tatsoi and arugula. Radicchio is new to me and last year it grew well under row cover, so I’m planning a couple of heads there. Row two will be in the same plot as the first with celery planned in between covered rows.

It rained most of Friday and the forecast is for more today. There are plenty of political events to attend if I can’t get in the garden. If there is one close, I’ll attend, but otherwise focus on garden tear down (removing fences and cleaning them), seeding in trays for the greenhouse, and laying out the garage floor with garden stuff. It’s time to park the vehicle in the driveway where it will stay for a few weeks until the garden is mostly planted.

The next major planting is onions. I removed last year’s ground cover from the planned plot and am waiting for rain to end long enough for the ground to dry, burn brush, and turn, till and plant. The onion and shallot seeds are getting a bit long in the trays and need to go in the ground. Onion starts from my supplier need planting as well. Onions are an important crop and if I can get in the ground, I’ll plant more this year than last.

Tomato, pepper, celery and eggplant seedlings need some growing time in the greenhouse before they are large enough to plant. A week of sunny days would help. The fruit trees are late producing leaves. I was worried the Red Delicious tree was a goner after being damaged multiple times in wind storms. It is not expected to fruit this year, yet it survived winter and that’s a positive sign.

The yellow flowers I brought from Indiana are beginning to bloom. They are also late, yet there are some beautiful blooms coming out after a lackluster season in 2021. My spouse is with her sister in the state capitol. I sent a bouquet via email to celebrate the end of April. The blooms don’t last long.