Spring has sprung

This was the first weekend of spring and the temperatures suggested so. There are signs all over the place that winter is over and summer is on its way. We had a mess load of robins in our front yard this weekend and there appeared to be a greening of the lawn with the warmer temperatures of late. I uncovered my strawberries I planted last spring and they showed plenty of green. My daffodils are coming up too...I'm guessing they'll be blooming early as the buds are already three or four inches above the ground.

The raised rock garden bed they are in was built last fall - it was the last larger project of the season. I bought the two dozen bulbs at Wal-mart and planted them in October. They seemed to have all survived the sub -10 weather we had on a couple nights this past winter. No doubt the multiple inches of snow that were on them throughout the winter provided enough insulation to protect them.

It is amazing to me how well snow insulates. Last spring I planted a couple rows of carrots and I was able to dig them up all winter long - the ground was barely frozen under the snow. I'm planning on keeping the carrots underground again this next winter to harvest throughout the season - I just need to better mark where they were. One cold afternoon in January I was digging where I thought they were only to find out I missed them by a foot - no fun when it was only 10 degrees out. I was very surprised how well they kept - they cooked up great too.

Next posting - Asparagus