Planting time has arrived.

The weather has moderated somewhat from the cold temps we were experiencing here.  It is still rather wet. I was hopeful that I would have begun to plant the early crops in my collapsible greenhouse, but life got in the way.  The company I work for has switched to a new computer program and as usual, it has been a rather bumpy road. The planters are set up, it's just that in a week and a half, my wife and I will be on vacation.  I could plant the seeds and let my son try to nurse them along while we are gone, but I doubt that the results would be worth the effort.  So, I will seed them in when we return.
We have had a streak of storms moving in and out and that has resulted in the soil being very wet.  I am having the same issues that the farmers in the mid west are currently working against.  The soil is just too wet and cold to allow for a planting.  I really feel bad for them given what they plant is for their livelihood.
We had a wet past couple of days and my rototiller therefore, was clogging up pretty badly today.  So, I looked in my garden shed and found a couple of very old but trustworthy tools.  The first tool is my handy dandy wheel cultivator.  I bought it at a roadside antique store as my wife and I were passing through an area in Pa.  It was pretty weathered but that didn't bother me as I kind of prefer my tools to have the "patina" of age.  Even though it was to go out in out front yard for a decoration, it hasn't seemed to have made that transition - yet.
The other tool is what is called a Norcross 55, 5 tine garden cultivator.  I haven't had need of using it until this year and I wasn't really expecting much out of it.  But, given the soil conditions, I felt I had no real choice.
Here are pictures of the two tools.

After cutting the whole patch with the wheel cultivator, I then used the Norcross cultivator to dig deeper into the soil.  Much to my amazement, it dug into the soil and broke up the water laden "mud".  It cut through the roots of the winter rye and broke them up with little assists from me.  To say I was pleased is an understatement.  Granted, I would have preferred the rototiller but that would have been an exercise in futility with the conditions present.  Here is a picture of the plot after all the digging was completed.  Not too bad for using antiques to get the job done.  

   

After that mild success, I decided to cut the area in for the glass greenhouse that I was supposed to assemble last year.  The area is at the end of the two pictured beds.  I took down the small structure at the end of the one bed and weed-whacked the remaining winter rye.  I then used the wheel cultivator followed by the Norcross cultivator much like I did on the earlier plot.  Again, I was pleasantly surprised with the Norcross piece.  And again, even though the ground was not best suited for cultivating, I was able to get the desired outcome as seen below. 

Now, hopefully, the ground can dry out a little and I can get underway with both the greenhouse and planting.  From the long term forecast, that really doesn't look too promising as we have 4 major storms that are to cross the US in the next two weeks.  How much rain is in store for us?  There is really is no sure way to know.  All one can do is just wait and see what happens.

In any case, I hope your gardens are coming along beautifully wherever you are.  Happy Gardening!

Weather issues

It's been awhile since I last posted.  That is because I have been fighting a very tenacious cold that just won't go away.  Just seems to have the ability to linger on - mostly through a cough.  But I figured it was time to check in so here we go.
Lots going on actually around the area.  Spring has taken leave so Winter has been the dominant feature of the weather.  We had temps hit lows in the teens and actually had a "snow" event this past week.  Today, Sunday the 10th, was probably the mildest day we have had in awhile.  Temps have been in the 50"s today and we're supposed to see a general trend of warming for the coming week.  All good news indeed as I need to get the garden rolling.
I have recently been adding vegetable scraps to my composters(pictured below) to try to get them reignited with micro biological activity.  Each of them have had about two sets of scraps put in them.  I will wait until we get more consistent weather then I will begin adding more mass to them.

They are about 1/2 full each with seasoned compost ready to use once the temps moderate. I will have to prepare my three beds first by cutting and working in the winter rye that is currently growing in them.  Here is one of the beds I have.  The Rye grew well despite the colder temps we have had.

I will wait for about a week or more before I begin the process of cutting the rye down to begin working it into the soil.  The reason I am waiting is that we are possibly going to have yet another set of colder days around the 21st through the 23rd.  I am trying to let the Rye grow as much as possible in order to maximize the input into the soils.  One week of good temps has often added and inch or more in the past.  

Well, next week, weather and health permitting, I will begin diving in big time into the gardens.  Till then, have a great gardening week!

Future forecast

Just saw a forecast from a reliable source - not NOAA or Accuweather  - mind you.  It appears that our much ballyhooed early Spring prediction from Punxsutawney Phil is inaccurate to a degree.  There are models out there that suggest a major cold snap will be hitting the northeast mid-March.  There isn't any data suggesting a snowstorm with the cold but that is still to be refined.  Given that this time period is at the edge of the envelope as far as forecasting, there isn't any data beyond this period at this time.  But, having a cold snap with our current wet trends portends difficulties for the  commercial growers in this area. 
I did go out to my garden yesterday before the rains set in.  The ground seems much wetter but not frozen.  My shoes did seem to sink in pretty easily which means - if this pattern of rains continue - there will need to be a period of much drier weather before the soils will warm up and dry out enough to plant.  Having to track this is a first for me.  It gives me a small sense of what a farmer with tens to hundreds of acres might be going through.
I have also been tracking the temps in my portable greenhouse for about a week.  It is still getting below freezing for a majority of the days but the lows are climbing.  I will keep tracking at this point to see what happens.
The weather has been quite unusual recently and it appears there is more to come.  The whole Northeastern US is under strong wind watches.  In the area around Buffalo NY, there are supposed to be winds reaching 75 mph.  They don't have a lot of snow cover presently so they won't have that to deal with visibility-wise.  The odd thing is that the wind issues are reaching from Michigan to the east coast of the US.  The is a huge area given the depth and breadth of this system.  It just doesn't happen too much.   
Well, that's all there is to report on today.  Just in a holding pattern when and until the weather is a little more hospitable to gardening.  Until the next time - Happy Gardening everyone!

Time to begin?

That's a tough question to answer.  The weather is at times saying yes and then cruelly, no.  We are currently at 43 degrees right now.  I walked out to my garden plots and the when I dug into the soil, it was cold and wet.  Not a big surprise as the weather has been quite seasonal.
So, what can be done given the soils are not ready for planting even the hardiest of seeds.  My answer is quite simple.  I will begin the process of clearing out my plastic greenhouse.  I placed one of my remote thermometers in it to get a gauge of what the temperature ranges are at this time.  Once the coldest temps are consistently above freezing, I will then set up the various hydroponic systems I have and  begin seeding in the early crops.  I was behind the curve the last time I planted in it and the crops bolted before I could get a decent crop produced due to too much summer heat.  It's a delicate balance to get the seeds in at the right time.  One season is not like the other in this area. 
I did a little cleaning around the beds when I was outside Saturday morning.  The rains and snows took a little toll on the them.  Nothing huge as everything looks to have come through the winter.  The winter rye is in a sort of dormant state but that will change with a few more weeks of 50 degree weather.  It will be soon enough before I have to cut the rye and start working it into the soil.
I also eyed up the area where I will be building the glass greenhouse this spring.  Lots to do there so I just need to start chipping away at that in small chunks.  The next step is to remove the bricks and paver stones in the area of the greenhouse floor.
Once those are removed, I can then use the rototiller to break up the ground where I will be starting the base of the unit.  That won't be for a little while yet as the ground is wet and we are expecting some freezing temps in the near future.
I took out some kitchen scraps this afternoon and buried them in the unfinished composter.  I did this in order to get the processes moving to create bacteria once the temps moderate.  There will be slow decomposition for now and even that is fine.  It was deep enough to perhaps awaken or feed the existing microbes that exist that far down.   
It was nice to get out in the yards and tool around the various points to get the gardening juices flowing again.  Spring is about a month or so away but hope has been rekindled.  It should be an interesting year given my focus on making the garden contribute to our household.  There is  big difference between gardening as a hobby and gardening to augment our food supply.  We shall see how it turns out.  It is a challenge for sure.  So, there is where the gardening progress is at this point in the year.  Till next time, Happy gardening everyone!

Beginning of Spring!

After all, Punxsutawney Phil has predicted an earlier Spring - right?  Well, maybe not given his 40% accuracy rate.  But, one can always hope I guess?  After having a brutal week of very extreme temperatures due to the recent polar vortex, we have begun to turn back to normal temps.  We hadn't had much in the way of winter type weather up until then.  I do prefer that we have a period where the ground actually freezes.  I believe that the freezing of the ground eliminates pests, fungus and general issues in the soil.
I have been busy trying to get myself prepared for the upcoming season.  I took stock of my many seeds about a week or so ago.  I really need to reign in my penchant for buying seeds as I peruse home improvement stores.  I have over 175 seed packets in my small dorm fridge.  That's seems insane to me so I will begin to throw out the older packets as I go along.  One things for sure, I don't need any seeds as the season begins.
I am trying to better utilize the space I have this year.  I need to plan with the goal in mind to not over plant vegetables like Tomato's and Peppers.  I always give away at least half the harvest by the end of the year.  And eventually, I end up either letting the crops rot on the plants or throw them away as everybody has had their fill of them.  To me, that is such a huge waste of my energy, time and space.
So, the task at hand right now is to plan what I am going to grow.
My first project is to get my greenhouse up and running.  Not a small task but if I break it down into smaller steps, I should be able to get it erected soon enough.  Then, after that is in place, I need to reorganize the area behind my garage.  I have a 275 gallon container that I need to hook up along with moving my 4 composters so that I have access to everything.  Again, not a small task but it is necessary.
Along with those two projects, I need to reorganize the garden and determine what plants I will be growing.  I have a plastic greenhouse that I can use to start growing lettuces and the like earlier this year.  Barring any major snowstorms, it should hold up to the weather for the Spring.  Beyond that, I will be relying on the various growers for crops.  I have several and they each have a few crops that are different from the others.  I generally get a pretty well rounded selections and can even find most of the harder to get heirloom plants. 
I would add pictures but the ground in and around my gardens amounts to mud.  Better to leave the picture taking to another day.  But once things dry out a little - maybe this weekend - I'll get some snaps.  Until then, everyone enjoy the day!