First Spring Planting

This evening I am nearly too pooped to blog.  Neighbors met at 6:30 AM Saturday morning--now a recurring ritual--to get a head start on yard work.  We used the trailer to take downed branches from last month's ice storm to the dump where they will be turned into free mulch.  It was our third such trip this spring, and we probably make three more trips to get rid of it all.  Making another trip today was out of the question as scores of other area residents seem to have the same objective this time of year, judging by the traffic at the dump.

At the neighbor's house we put up more garden fencing after planting lettuce and some other vegetables.  I say "some other" because we failed to label them when they were seeded.  They are either cabbage, broccoli, or cauliflower; or some combination thereof.

In our yard we put in spinach and bok choi.  We also accomplished some weeding before putting a short run of chicken wire around the deer fence to keep rabbits out.

Having space freed up from all the planting, we transplanted cucumbers, peppers and okra from trays into pots in the hoop house.  The temperature outdoors was only 65 degrees today, but the hoop house was an amazing 120 degrees even with the door and window open.  The tomatoes were a bit droopy in the heat but they made it through the day.  The summer squash didn't seem to mind a bit.  And to think it was snowing just two weeks ago.

With the next frost predicted for Tuesday night, we're keeping our eye on the weather.  The plastic will have to go back over the row cover for that event.  Nevertheless, this weekend was awesome for gardening.  To top it all off, the lady at the beer store gave me a couple of beautiful Stella Artois beer glasses!