turtledreams' photostream

turtledreams' photostream on Flickr.

I look forward to Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday of the year. The gathering of friends and family and good food and conversation. I would like this year to urge people to shop locally for local products. Vote with your $$ for small businesses that circulate their money locally. These businesses do not hoard their money. These businesses pay lobbyists to reduce regulations and vote against labeling on food. Make your purchases count. Happy Thanksgiving to all

Busy with garden chores

The temperatures are careening all over the map here in NH. 80s in March 27 at end of April. Myriad of projects and new info. Major move afoot to take down some trees tha shade good portion of garden. Some to be removed, some to be given a haircut. Lots of plants growin in fits and starts (because of temps) . Daffodils came in early wave, then pause, then the late ones. Bleeding Heart pink and white, gorgeous flowe

ring crab, Nanking Cherry. Comfrey leaping into action with leaf growth above ground and just as exciting sending roots deep to bring up goods from underground. Two whole circular beds of assorted colr yarrows started from seed looking very robust. And so much more. Exciting

Gathering Resources for another Garden season

After two very difficult gardening seasons in a row I am preparing for another one. Some seeds already have arrived and the paper is starting to get drawn on for the placement of the crops this year. I am figuring out strategies that will deal better with the high amount of rain that has assaulted NH these last two years. I plan more raised beds and several mini greenhouse shelters with raised tables to try to thwart the monsoons. At the same time they need to be configured so that if we experience a drought getting water to them will be easy. Playing checkers with mother nature

Where does the time go?

Here we are in Sept. The summer late spring started well and then the rains came. We had more or less 6 weeks of rain here in nh. then a small dry period and then more rain. I am sitting here reviewing and watching the green blob of Hanna tearing up the coast. It should deliver intense downpours of rain this evening and tonight. Sort of like a baseball game, but this rainout has been several months long. Last winter we had record snow and this summer we have had way above average rain. certainly the pattern fits well with the predictions of climate change. I wonder what this sort of pattern does for the amount of food that can be produced here in NH. The temps are certainly higher, but if the violence of the storms continues like this it will be hard to have a highly productive garden.

Still snow but more shallow

Still snow in the yard, but less of it. There are actually some patches of ground showing. The daffodils are fighting up from under the snow. Red winged black birds were in the front yard this morning. Sunny in the 40's. Still way below the average for this time of year. Saw a great blue heron cruising over the other day. South of us in nashua the ground is bare. I have spring fever supreme. Started some tomatos. They are up in their warm trays in the basement. Who knows when they will be able to go outside. I dream of a late spring day with soft air and a light breeze and the smell of newly turned earth.

Garden Fever

So as we have 3+ feet of snow on the ground and a pouring rainstorm in progress I ahve come down with a radical case of garden fever. The books and the catalogues are out. I have moved inside plants around. ALTHOUGH IT CERTAINLY DOES NOT FEEL LIKE IT IT IS TIME TO start some seeds indoors. I have a good glassed in pourch which will serve me well for the next two months. If the last 5 years are any preview we will be frost free as of the first of May. happy gardening