A Cool, Cool, Cool Spring

March is going out like lamb, albeit a grumpy one.  We're still seeing freezing temperatures and precipitation fights between snow, sleet, and rain, but most of the snow is gone at this point.  April can be tricky, so I don't want to get too excited.  The forecasts are all calling for a cooler spring, which means I should do better with early season vegetables.  Maybe.  I hope.

I'm still controlling my urge to start too many seeds, but I did just set up the second shelf unit.  Today I'll be starting petunias and morning glories, and possibly some cool weather vegetables.  One of the tricks I read about that I'm doing this year is soaking my seed starting and potting soil mixes with boiling water.  This is supposed to kill any fungus gnat larvae that might be in the soil, and so far, I'm fungus gnat free.  We'll chalk that up to a win!

 

I did start some more of the Tiny Tim tomato plants to give away, and a few pepper varieties.  I used the seed starting setup under the hydroponic system and it worked fantastically well!  The only seeds that didn't sprout were the habaneros, which is disappointing.  

 

The seeds that did sprout were transplanted, sponge and all, into red Solo cups with potting soil.  They're doing very well, so this is a great method for starting, and I'll probably do another round soon so I have staggered harvests. 

 

 

 

I tried starting some of the leek seeds that were leftover from 2024, and had less than 50% germination, so those need to go.  I really didn't want to grow leeks again this year, but I do love mom's potato leek soup.  I may have half a dozen plants to set out when the time comes.

And the Tiny Tim tomatoes finally did turn red, and were tasty little treats.  

The leaves have all dried up and fallen off, though.  The little peppers turned red, but they're solid, so I don't know what's up with that.  

Yesterday mother and I attended a small garden show in Maine, and one of the nurseries we frequent was a vendor there.  They had this spectacular black pussy willow shrub that was so stunning, we ended up driving to their nursery to purchase one on the spot.  I love it, and now I have one more shrub to add to my backyard collection.

 

 

 

And so begins the plant buying frenzy of 2026!
 

I feel it in my bones

Finally, we're getting temperatures that are more in the normal range for this time of the year!  It's been mostly above freezing for nearly a week, and it's a welcome break from the constant bitter cold we've had since December.  The sun is beginning to feel a bit stronger and the snow has begun a slow melt.  Now I'm really itching to start some seeds. The Ragged Robin and poppy seeds that I collected from my own plants that I sowed a while back are doing great so far. 

 

The Mallow and Vervain seeds that I collected never germinated, which is a disappointment.  The Burnet seed that I purchased also did not germinate indoors, so fingers crossed it will in the outdoor sowing containers.  Of the dozen Scabiosa seeds that were sown indoors, nine germinated, and two don't look so healthy.  I transplanted them all and it definitely looks like I'll lose at least one of the weaker seedlings.  

I've sown the last nine Burnet seeds and a few Valerian seeds in the hopes I'll get at least a few plants that I can collect seeds from this autumn.  Fingers crossed that they, and the winter sown seeds, produce a few good plants.  The winter sown containers are pretty much frozen into the snow right now, but I was able to look down into a few and I'm not seeing any signs yet of germination, which given the volatile weather is probably a good thing. 

 

I have some leek seeds from the flower heads I harvested year before last, and I'm going to try to see if they're still viable.

Meanwhile, over at the hydroponic station, the lettuce stump that started to produce leaves gave up the ghost, but I have two more varieties that I planted in succession that are doing well.  The tiny pepper plant has two oddly shaped peppers on it, despite constantly losing leaves. It's too dry in this house during the winter to really grow peppers, I'm finding.  I will start sowing some pepper varieties for spring planting outdoors soon, though.

 

The tomato plant is cracking me up - it's covered in tiny fruits!  None of them are even as big as a grape, but they are just too adorable.

 

I may start a couple of these tomatoes for planters outdoors when the time comes. Right now, that feels like it's a long way off...

Haluski! (a post for Alex)

I made haluski today!  It's one of my favorite easy peasy meals.  I only cook about three different dishes, and this is one of them.  It's one of those deep winter, stick to your ribs kind of foods that probably isn't for everyone.  Basically it's cabbage, onion, and egg noodles pan fried.  Myself?  I like to 

add kielbasa.  In the background is one of the best strong cheddars I've had in a while for snacking on while cooking.  We went to the Seacoast Farmer's Market yesterday and I purchased this wedge of Caerphilly from Abbot Hill Creamery.  HIGHLY recommend this if you're a fan of creamy, aged cheddar.  

Growing up, I joked that my Grampy would melt a stick of butter to cook a pound of bacon.  I prefer frying in butter for flavor and that wonderful crispy browning effect.  I know, I know...not healthy, so I only do it once in a while.

Once that's pan fried to perfection, I move on to the vegetable portion of the meal.  A small head of cabbage, cut into healthy sized chunks.  A large vidalia onion cut into equally chunky pieces.  I like mushrooms in pretty much everything I eat, so slice 'em up!  And some of my home grown garlic.

I am fairly hopeless in the kitchen and am barely able to function, so one of my best purchases was this little mincer gizmo.  

Now it's time to coooooooook.

Olive oil, garlic, heat.

 Onion! 

 Add cabbage - it looks like a lot but trust me, it cooks down to nuttin'!

 Now mushrooms, and cook until they start getting a little soft

...then add in that kielbasa.  Make sure to scrape any butter out of the pan into the haluski - don't you waste that liquid gold!

 

Keep stirring and flipping and moving everything to get it to cook to your preferred state.  Crispier cabbage?  Sure!  See through onions?  Why not!  Mushy mushrooms?  Get a grip.  There is a point of no return, people. 

Next, boil up some egg noodles.  How much?  I don't know, how much do you want?

 This much.  This is my perfect amount. 

 Fold that into the frypan with the other ingredients, and honey, you've got yourself a haluski.

Mmmmmmmmmm, mmmmmmmmm, good.  You'd better believe this needs to be served with a thick, warm slice of seeded sourdough rye with - what else? - buttah!  

Like all hearty dishes, this is better the next day.  But who wants to wait? Not me! 

addendum: I realized I didn't even attempt to add any spices to this.  Normally I would add sea salt, pepper, and my favorite tuscan blend spice, but I share this with Mother and she can't handle the level of seasoning I normally use, so I try to stay bland.  The woman who shared this recipe with me back in the day liked to make hers with cabbage, onion, egg noodle, craisins, and a little celery salt.  The recipe is so basic, you can really add anything to it.  Sometimes I substitute potstickers for the kielbasa and egg noodles, and that's pretty darned tasty, too! 

 

Halfway to spring

I am so ready.  I want to dig in the dirt, to set up my polytunnel, to bask in the warm rays of the sun.

While we haven't had a lot of large snow storms blow through, we've had a good many 2-3" quick hitters, and one good 12+" storm.  This winter has been cold, though.  Like, real feel of -20sF below zero cold.  Everyone is just done with it.

I've followed through on some winter sowing.  I labeled everything, but didn't keep a list, so I can't remember what's out there.  Verbena?  Teasel? Vervain?  Possibly.  

These are the containers I went with.

 The larger tub I drilled holes into and covered with another tub with drilled holes.  Not so pro tip - don't force the drill.

 I used that one as the bottom, because look at that drainage.  *sigh*

And here they are outside.

 I checked them about a week later after a snowfall to be sure the snow was getting in the holes, and it is.  I tried taking a picture but...flip phone woes.

Currently these are now buried under about a foot of snow.  I'm planning to add a few more this week, some Ammi major and mystery seeds gifted to me by a coworker.

I've been really trying to hold off starting seeds in the house, but it's getting more and more difficult.  I'm still having fun with the hydroponic system, and harvested all the leaves off a lettuce plant.  Left with a stub, I wondered if I should toss it and grow a new plant, or leave it and see if it regenerated.  Well, I did both, and the stub is putting forth leaves, much to my surprise.  

In critter news, the crows have been joined by a pair of ravens, and the little fox has been around quite often.  The other day I saved a tweety bird from this fella.

 I'm always conflicted, because they have to eat, too.  I'm a big fan of the raptors, but seeing that little bird in his claws was startling.  

Mother's dog has bagged four or five squirrels, and one of the carcasses lured in a bald eagle.  I thought they were pretty much fish birds, but I guess when the lakes are frozen over they become opportunists.

 He was spooked shortly after this photo, and landed in one of the trees along my driveway.  It was here that the ravens noticed him and set off the general alarm, which led to him flying off into the treetops elsewhere.

 This is what passes as high excitement on the farm in the winter.  

Today is reserved for opening up the driveway and parking area.  The last storm I had to snowblow in increments because the snow was so light and fluffy, it just collapsed and made it difficult to clean up.  I did the bare minimum and logged 31,000+ steps on the old fitbit, just over 13 miles.  I really need to get the truck shored up to the point it can handle a plow.  This crap is getting old.  Kind of like me. 😒 

 

Well hello there, 2026

Here we go, another year in the books, time to plan for the shiny new year ahead!  In 2025 my goal was to hit 12,000 steps per day.  I fell just shy of that with an average of 11,640 steps per day.  I think I'll shoot for 12,000 again this year.  I definitely feel like I was more active, but I can sense my stamina and drive are slowing as I age.  I look at my list of things I want to get done this summer and wonder how I'll ever do this alone.  I don't think I can anymore.  I either need to pare down my list, or get some help.  Finding help is about as easy as winning the lottery these days, so paring it is!

As much as I would love to get going on planting the forest garden area, the reality is that I need to concentrate on other projects first.  I can continue to cut brush and saplings, and add organic material to that area for now.  The more important project is the mule track.  I need to get that sorted before mid-May, when I can start letting the boys out on grass again.  Even if I only get two sections fenced, that will work.  Here's my plan:

 

The outer yellow lines denote the property boundaries.  The red is the mule track I really need to get done this spring, the yellow is the track that can wait.  The orange is the fence for the back yard, which I'd also like to get done this year.  That's a lot of fence, but I already have posts in place for the mule track, so it's just a matter of getting enough fence together, then getting it put up.  The blue around the barn is a wrap around lean-to I'm hoping to have built, finances permitting.  It would give the boys some shade outside in the dry lot, and around back would be a perfect place to winter over some of my equipment.  

I think those are enough goals to get me through to next autumn, and it should keep me active.  Of course, getting most of this done is climate dependent, so let's see what the new year has in store for this fair weather project gal.  Hopefully a classic spring and gentle easing into summer, but who knows?  

Winter Seed Sowing - The Finalists

I've been immersing myself in YouTube videos and Reddit threads about winter sowing, and I think I've made my mind up which seeds I'll try for the first year.  

I have leftover Whorled Milkweed, which didn't fare so well last year when started in the house. I'd really like to get this established in the meadow area.

Teasel, which I discovered can be invasive so I didn't even crack that seed envelope.  If I only sow a few, grow them in pots, and cut back the seed heads before they naturally distribute, I may be safe.  They are a nice structural plant.   

Annual asters (Sea Star mix) are apparently good candidates for winter sowing, and I have about half of a package left from last year.  

I have a package and a half of Rococo blend pansies and I'm trying to decide if I want to winter sow them in containers or sprinkle them around the cottage gardens and between beds in the hillside garden.  These are seeds I purchased in 2023 and started indoors, then transplanted out in containers.  They were spectacular, and when autumn rolled around I'd neglected to empty a small pot of them.  To my utter shock, they came back the next year in that pot and thrived. They reappeared last year, as well.  We'll see if the seeds are still viable.

I'm going to try winter sowing some cool weather greens, too.  I have cabbage, kale, and spinach that I'll attempt to coax to life.  I sowed cabbage seeds last year directly in one of the shadier raised beds and they were not much more than an inch tall by the end of the season.  I sowed spinach directly in a bed twice and both times it failed to even germinate. I think our springs are getting too warm too quickly, and it's affecting these crops.  Hopefully this will give them an edge and get them started in optimal conditions.

All of these seed packets were purchased for previous years, so I'm not 100% confident they'll even germinate, but you never know.  I grew Roma tomatoes from the same seed packet for four years previously, so it's worth a try.  Next step: deciding on the actual containers.  

Addendum - after I hit publish I realized I have other seed packets already in the fridge to keep them cool!  Great Burnet, Verbena bonariensis, Valerian, and side oats; the latter two I also sowed directly in the meadow back in late November.  I have a number of seeds I collected from the gardens, too.  Clematis, Vervain, Ragged Robin, Poppy, Mallow, and Penstemon.  Looks like I'm going to need more containers than I had bargained for!

The more things change

 Talk about what's old being new again...I was going through some of my winter posts from years gone by, and noted how similar the December 2022 post regarding a rain storm was to a storm we just experienced this week.  Thankfully the 2025 warm up with rain and wind wasn't as destructive, but it sure did eat up all of our Christmas snow.  The fog created by the warm air made for some moody photos, too.

 I love how the pre vs post sunrise light changes in photos; the blue tinted snaps were taken about an hour before the more sepia hued ones. 

In the end, the warm air and heavy rain melted most of the snow and temperatures then dove into the lower 20sF, so everything froze solid.  The winter that we experienced Winter Storm Elliot ended up being extremely snowy after that storm, so maybe we'll return to a winter wonderland before it's over with.  I mean, it's only the first day of winter, so who knows what's in store? 

garden ruminations and the fix

 

As I sit here on a snowy December day, my thoughts turn to vegetable growing.  I fully admit that I start with a bang during spring months that are so filled with promise.  Like an echo, that initial push of excitement fades into the distance as the reality of growing conditions, my own mistakes, and unpreventable climate or weather related mishaps begin rearing their ugly heads.  The hot summer months are when I begin to look around and adopt a defeatist attitude about my gardens.  This isn't a healthy pattern, so I need to fix it.

I've been looking at my simple garden layout and thinking about what has worked well in which beds, what has failed miserably, and figuring out the why of it all.  

 I developed this layout initially to keep track of my perennial stock; to determine which plants I had in which beds.  As I moved the perennials out, I thought this chart would help me determine simple crop rotation for vegetables.  That didn't work because I tend to use any open spot as a perennial holding area for new plants, plants I've started from seed, or plants that need a specific growing condition that I haven't prepared yet, thus throwing my rotation plans into chaos. So what other uses might this chart have?  How about light, and where to better plant specific vegetables according to their need for sun or shade?

This chart is situated as though I'm standing at the bottom of the hill, in the entrance.  The top is fairly west, the left is fairly south, the bottom fairly east, and the right fairly north.  It's not exact, but it's also not evenly split.  The left side of the garden is shaded by the large trees of the forest garden from around noontime to three or four o'clock, then it's hit with full sun for a few hours until sundown.  The right side of the garden gets pretty much full sun all day.  Using this information, I can determine which vegetables will do better in which beds.  Well, you would think, anyway.  Last year I tried growing lettuce in the old tub at the very bottom left, and it was a massive failure.  Likewise, radish and cabbage in the far upper left did almost nothing.  I'm not sure if it was light conditions or if the soil was missing something, but I may revamp those beds altogether and try again.  

Since adding the hay ring in the center, I've been frustrated by the way one side of whatever I've planted at the base of the ring - peas, cucumbers, or pumpkins - grows better than the other.  I've been thinking of adding more trellises in the hillside garden for vining vegetables, and thought...gee, do the trellises need to be a certain position for optimal output?  Well, duh, young Skywalker, they sure do.  The hay ring is positioned east to west; that is, walking through the open center you are moving east to west, with plants on the north and south sides. In this situation, one side gets more sun and grows faster and better than the other.  Trellises should be positioned north to south, so they get the full benefit of light on both sides as the sun traverses the sky.  I'd like to add vertical trellises (and possibly arched) for cucumbers, peas, and possibly some smaller squash varieties.  My beds are all lined so that if I start in one row and bend a trellis up to the next row for arched, they should work great, with the open center running north to south and veg planted on the east and west sides.  If I go with just a vertical wall type trellis the length of the beds, I already know that works because I've done that in the past with a small piece of hog panel.  

My next thought is that if add trellises, I need to know which beds will best lend themselves to the potential shading of afternoon sun from the vining plants.  A quick check on "what vegetables benefit from afternoon shade" led me down a rabbit hole of confusing information.  The internet.  At once the most and least helpful informational tool.  So what do I know to be true?  I know cool season crops need sun but don't thrive in heat, and many can be coaxed through the summer by providing some cooling shade.   

Armed with this information, I'm now going back to my trusty seed box to take stock of what seeds I have on hand, which ones need to be scrapped due to age, which can be started inside, which can be direct sown, and what plants I'm better off letting the garden center start for me.

 Who says gardening in northern climes stops when the beds are buried under snow?

 

Good gravy, it's winter!

 And just like that, everything was covered in snow.

 

It's funny that most people I talk to are astounded by how "soon" winter arrived.  It's December in New England - we're lucky we didn't have a white Thanksgiving!  

So my to-do list isn't quite ta-done.  I didn't get any more fence posts in, I didn't get any fencing up, I didn't get more brush cut in the forest garden area, or cut the sumac whips behind the bitch barn (my alternative to a she shed).  I guess all of these shift over to the spring to-do list, once the snow is gone.  So much to get done next year, what with the alpine garden, maintenance in the hillside garden, and the continuing formation of the forest garden.  I really need to set my expectations to a level more acceptable to a mature woman's abilities.  That's a nice way of saying I'm old and broken, and can't bull like I used to.

In the house I've started some more lettuce, another tomato, and another pepper.  Hopefully the aphid invasion was stemmed in time.  I ended up tossing some old friends on the compost heap, figuring they may have been the culprits that brought aphids in the house.  Goodbye to my four year old celery plant, my five year old parsley, and a few annual flowers I've overwintered.  I always feel like I'm abandoning a pet when I purposely cull plants.  The guilt can be overwhelming, which is half the reason I overwinter things I shouldn't.  

This winter, I'm going to try winter sowing in plastic jugs, and I'm excited to see how it pans out.  Last winter, I stratified seeds in the fridge and then grew them under the grow lights.  I really didn't have the best success; the fame flowers died before I could get them planted out, the five poppy mallows that survived are planted in a holding bed and I'm not sure they'll make it, the whorled milkweed that germinated died soon after planting out, and the gaura never did much.  The coneflowers did really well, but the ones I planted out into the meadow area struggled, and I'm not even sure if they made it.  The leftovers that I planted into the cement bed in the hillside garden thrived despite the lack of water, so hopefully I'll be able to transplant those out next summer.  

I'm thinking this year I can concentrate on annual flower and vegetable seed starting in the house.  I need to curb my enthusiasm so I don't overplant and wind up with no room to spread out under the lights once I begin to pot on when the seedlings get too big for their containers.

Looking ahead to my outdoor gardening new year, I hope to get the back yard finally fenced in.  Once that's complete, I can start laying out the garden beds and pathways.  I've been researching paths, because I don't want to make the same mistake I did with the gravel paths that were eaten by grass within one season.  My biggest mistake may have been the landscape fabric barrier, believe it or not.   I think I'll start with mown grass paths, and go from there.  Of course, there are the prerequisite chores that need to be done first, so that I can do the fun stuff...get the alpine bed situated, because once fenced I won't be able to get the tractor in there.  Get more mulch on the bank, because once fenced, I won't be able to back my truck up to unload.  Ugh.  Who knew a simple garden would be so much work?  I did, because I never make these things simple!  But I honestly believe I thrive on this stuff.