The birds are back. Spring is near.
If I had to pick my top 3 moments of every year, hearing the birds outside my window in the morning for the first time as we transition from winter to spring is definitely on that list. There is something magical about the first day you recognize the song.
And then, as a gardener, I start to process all of the tasks I need to complete to get my first seeds in the soil.
Here’s what I’ve completed so far:
- Flowers started but waiting for seeds on one more variety
- Peppers started– two types didn’t germinate, so I need to watch and try more seeds if needed
- Purchased bone and blood meal + worm castings to amend beds
- Added stone flooring to the greenhouse & organized it
Thankfully, Jared and I didn’t want to add more beds or expand our garden footprint this year. (That might be a different tune next year.) So our outdoor labor seems less intense than previously, but there is still plenty to do.
First
This weekend, I’ll start the remaining tomatoes. In 2021, I may have (definitely did) started them too early, which then required me to plant literal trees. That mistake won’t be made twice. I am grateful to have a greenhouse I can move my starts into once they outgrow my indoor growing space. Because I still might be starting them a week or so, still too early… but I’m tired of waiting. Ha!
Second
Once we hit our next nice weekend, I need to fertilize my fruit trees. Last year we purchased our “stimmy fruit trees” from Johnson’s Garden Center and Stark Bros out of Missouri. Our apple trees are still at least four years away from production, but our cherry tree may be able to tease us with a couple of fruit this year. However, it is still two to three years away from heavy production.
Second and a Half
On that same nice weekend, we will also help my mom tear out her boring landscaping the prep for a colorful flower explosion this summer.
Third
We need to order a few yards of compost to be delivered that we’ll use to top 9/10 of our beds. One bed we topped in the fall so it would be ready for the garlic we have started.
Fourth
We need to fix our fence. We had some c creep into our garden and a few beds last season. Once the season ended for those beds, we moved the fencing to add more cardboard, pull what we could, and add additional mulch to the area. I then didn’t put the fencing back because I decided that was a future Alyssa problem.
Fifth
Organize the plethora of produce cages my grandparents gave to us. In November, when they moved, we picked them up just stacked them up randomly under the tree in our garden area. I need to go through and gift some to other family members with gardens and find a better storage area.
Then we’ll be ready.
The first thing we’ll get in the ground in mid-March will be the onions from Dixiondale Farms, potatoes from Gurney’s, and I’ll direct sow a large variety of radishes. Our last frost date is typically around April 15th, but I’ll likely wait out that last Kansas cold snap and start putting my warm-season crops in the ground on May 1st.
