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Monday, February 26, 2018

SPRING IS IN THE AIR

It was a yucky weekend.  Sorry for our absence.  We had a funeral on Friday and a baby shower Saturday.  Amazing having those events back to back, the whole circle of life and all.  Sadness and joy.

To top it all off, it pretty much rained all weekend.  Sunday I went to the farm by myself in the rain.  Any other weekend and I would have skipped it but the Zen Machine (i.e. John Deere tractor mower) is being picked up today for its annual maintenance and I had to take it out of the shed and park it in the driveway so they could pick it up (free pickup/delivery, can't go wrong with that!).  


Necessity is the mother of invention.  I didn't want to leave it out there uncovered in the rain.  We had a cover when it used to be in a three sided open shed but it got all cracked in the elements over a season or two. Once we got the mower shed, we didn't have to worry about covering it so we discarded the cover.

 Add new mower cover to the list

Anyway, I found a painters drop cloth that we had, still in the package.  It was the perfect size.  I just put some rocks to hold it down and it was good and dry.  As this posts, it should already be picked up.


The garden is still producing.  We should have two or three more cabbages before we need to repurpose the bed for Spring planting.  Hurry!


This is the best the garlic has ever looked at this point since we've been trying to grow it (this is third attempt, third time's a charm?).  Hoping we finally have a harvest this Spring.  


I checked the fruit trees and look!  Leaves coming out on all of them.


Both of the plums are putting out flowers.  


The apple is putting out leaf buds as well.


As for the citrus...well, this is the lime.  I scratched it in several spots, it's brown.  Dead.  It was the most freeze sensitive, usually down to mid 20's.  Any other Winter that would be OK.  We got down to 16.

Add new lime tree to the list.  

I forgot to get a picture of the lemon but it's brown up top with a small amount of green way down at ground level, near the base.  Not sure we want to start from that small.

Add new lemon tree to the list.


But in the GOOD citrus news department, here is the orange tree.  Lots of tiny green leaves coming out so we think it made it through the freeze.


And there were robins!  Everywhere!  We haven't seen them since last year!

We think it's safe to say, SPRING IS COMING!!!

17 comments:

  1. you are much farther ahead of us. my tulips and daffodils are coming up now though!

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    1. I need to plant some next Fall so we can have some coming up next Spring. I love seeing them, so pretty.

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  2. Tarp and rocks...got it since that is my way of protecting things. Have you ever thought about a heat sink (think that is what it is called) for fragile trees? The back of my house is stone a foot thick, five feet tall and about 40 feet long. It actually protects things from freezing and actually causes a microclimate where things bloom about a month early.

    If you have rocks on your place, a ring of them around the most fragile trees would help them. Plus, put tall stakes, four of them, around anything you will cover so the cover won't touch the tender tree. Every place it touches will freeze. Or, buy a new lime tree...lol.

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    1. Hey, if it works it works, right? Ha. I love the idea of a heat sink type thing. I will have to think about something like that. We do have rocks, lots that we brought from the house in town. I guess the build up heat and slowly release it huh? And yes, I will change the covers next year so they don't touch. Lesson learned. :-)

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    2. I have been taking advantage of the rock basement and noticing the difference I when plants bloom in my yard. The rock wall faces the southwest, roughly. So, that's a plus. Root Simple had links to Roman and Greek, or some of those old guys, also in Mesopotamia, I think. They built rows of walls in order to plant between them and give heat to their plantings. I suppose they, like I, noticed things by rock walls bloomed earlier and survived cold spells. I even put three rocks around tulip plants and they obviously loved the heat advantage. I intend to take rocks from this house if I ever must move.

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  3. Don't know how Meyer Lemon would do there, but we have (still) just a little 3' x 3' tree that seems to produce 30 or so lemons each season... using the 3 x a year fertilizer method they recommend around here... they are the BEST lemons I've ever had ... We usually pick before freeze in December .. and store in dishpan in the spare fridge ... some people freeze them as is, some zest and juice and freeze that for use as needed ... all good ... A friend gave us a few blood oranges this year .. and wow are they good too ... if you plant any more oranges give them a look and see what they would do for you.

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    1. Meyer is what we have for the lemons. It's got some green sprouts from the very bottom but not sure. I think we'll replace it. This was its first year and we got it in the ground late, so we'll start earlier so it gets more established. And take better precautions next year. We want to have Meyer's we've heard they are so good. Thanks for the info!!!

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  4. I have found in Texas; at least my zone that lemons and limes don't do well planted in the ground. Maybe in large containers and then watered really well before a freeze and then cover with freeze cloth or put inside from the freezing temperatures then just maybe they may survive but that is if-e.
    Just like tropical plants of any kind, must be moved inside a shed or enclosed area for them to survive during the good and freezing temperatures here in Texas.
    Nice to see that your trees are beginning to bud out and your garlic and cabbage looks great.
    Love your robin photo

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    1. We're determined, ha. I might have to figure out a better protection next season. Solar powered non led light, ha. Or I build some temporary shelter around each and then bag them up. I'll figured it out next season. Now I have to be excited for spring planting, ha.

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  5. Very jealous here in Colorado. With little snow at altitude (almost spelled attitude) my tulips are twerking out of the mulch which means we will get a blizzard in March! Love the garlic.. hmmm... might need to give it a go... laura

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    1. LOL, thanks, but we'll be jealous of you come about August when we're 105, ha!!! We're determined on the garlic. Fingers crossed.

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  6. Yep spring is starting here too a-a-a-a-choo!

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  7. Wow, robins! Tell them to send their cousins up to the northeast ASAP!

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    1. There was so many. Spring is coming, I'll send them that way!!! :-)

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  8. Good thinking outside the box with that improvised mower cover, just using what you have.
    Those are some really nice looking cabbages and garlic. Too bad about your lime and lemon trees, but it’s great that the other fruit trees are budding out. I think I’ve lost most of my Meyer lemon tree. There are a few green shoots coming out from the bottom but I think the rest is dead. Two years ago, it was about 10 feet tall and 10 feet wide - really sad to see it so damaged now. My key limes made it just fine - with THREE layers of covers, including one of the AgFabric.
    I am giving away lettuce left and right. I had all those volunteers that came up in the fall, so I had a bumper crop. I need to clean out the Fall garden for Spring planting in about a week. I'll leave a few lettuce to seed out for hopefully some Fall volunteers.
    I love robins! It’s said that they are a sign of Spring!

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    1. Yep, I've heard that about Robins and they were out in force, ha. Sorry about your lemon tree. This was SUCH a hard freeze, and sustained. I'm gonna try again and come up with something different for next year but we'll see. Maybe I should try key limes instead of the other kind.

      Spring is coming for sure, and it will hit us when we are least prepared, LOL!

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