Trouble is, I can't seem to fit all the veggies I started.....I planted DeCicco Broccoli last spring and it produced all year and well into the fall. Amazing stuff. I just have had to start buying broccoli in the store again.

Well it's Feb 4 and normally a warm 20 degs with a nice 2' layer of snow in these parts. Today I'm walking around with a light jacket on and I stopped in the local garden center and bought a pack of spinach seeds. (I bought some broccoli seed the other day.)



A short trip to the garden and I see 1" spinach seedlings growing nicely from last falls planting.  I planted 5 36" rows on the south side and short row over by the garlic that was planted in October.  A close inspection of the garlic shows some green coming up.....wow it's been warm!  A quick cover of that garlic row with some straw mulch will keep them in check for a few more weeks.

Two more weeks and the broccoli, tomato and pepper plants will be started.......

The weather has really been too weird.  I don't like it.

hoping there are no sudden extended cold spells ...

Well it's March 11 and spring is definitely here. I needed some tie rod ends for the tractor so I decided I'd take a trip to the new Tractor Supply Store in Washington, NJ.



A very nice Saturday morning drive, with a scenic ride along the Delaware River. I arrived at the store and I see them wheeling towards the back room  a dozen or so unsold snow throwers, usually they are sold out by Jan. 1, but this winter that was the wrong item to sell. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a brand new shinny red manure spreader, ready to be parked where the snow throwers were.



Oh it sure is nice, I've always wanted one, but quite honestly my garden just isn't big enough, a pitch fork is big enough to throw the *hit. Oh well, maybe next year I'll bring one home to plant roses in....

The trip home was better than the trip in.  I stopped for lunch at Hot Dog Johnny's in Butzville NJ along Rt. 46. It's one of those great Americana hot dog stands, still cranking out those dogs since WWII.



Two with mustard, onion, relish and a birch beer in a mug please!  Ah what a great taste!  A nice 60 deg spring day, a greasy picnic table, and a scrumptious  lunch while sitting along side the Pequest River. A pleasant stay, the Harley riders where there, pickup trucks were parked under the trees with  the kids sitting in the back , and  a few Mercedes thrown in for good measure.

The afternoon was spent replacing the tie rod ends, replaced the pulleys on the mule drive and I also pulled the snow thrower off. I won't mount the mower for another week, I need to mount the plow and move some of the driveway around. 

Oh, for the evening dinner, my wife and I along with my son and his soon to be Ms. spent a few hours at the local all you can scarf down Chinese........(definitely not a South Beach Diet day...)

Ain't life just grand!!!

spring here as well ...

Wow green!  I made a trip to Pottstown PA a week ago and a few of the fruit trees were showing a bit of color in the buds. Soon........................

Here you go, the early '06 crop of lettuce, swiss chard, beets, broccoli, and savoy cabbage.

Tucked under the clear dome, not even up yet, 6 varieties of tomato,  2 varieties of egg plant, and  two varieties of peppers.  BTW, these are being grown under a "growers" grow light....he had to retire early.....the peas where planted several days ago, the spinach and garlic are doing nicely.

alright ... looking forward to further developments ...

gunter

1st thinning's of the spinach planted Feb 4 made it to the dinner table last evening for a nice salad! The over wintered spinach (planted last fall) should be in a nice pot of boiling water by next week, they are about harvest size. Onions, carrots and swiss chard planted this past weekend.  Two early tomato plants set out inside a  Wall-O-Water heat tubes. These allow frost sensitive plants to be set out earlier, sometimes 6 to 8 weeks earlier.

Tonite's dinner included fresh mixed green salad from the garden, vine ripe tomatoes from some where down south, fresh cauliflower (not mine),  and a big plate of spinach freshly picked and planted last fall. 

We finally got some decent rain this past week and the vegetables have taken off.  Expect fresh peas in about 1 week.

Mid summer lettuce will be started in flats this next week along with next falls brussels sprouts. I planted about 250 onion plants several weeks ago, have no idea what I'm going to do with that many.

First green beans of the year are just poking through the ground.