Spring Sprung

 

I've been so caught up with cranking out posts on my latest woodworking project or some new find among Clara's Things as I refer to them in my head, that I am neglecting to show signs of spring which are definitely present around here. This picture, taken three days ago as you read this, gives you a good idea of what it is like here in the Midwest. The Serviceberry tree is blooming which for me is always the official start of spring. The Redbuds too are blooming but I don't have any up in my front yard where I can easily monitor them. I do have one down in the ditch and despite my efforts over the years, I've never been able to transplant one or grow one from seed. Above you can also see the two apples and one small sour cherry trees are all leafing out and will be blooming shortly.

Below is a shot of our spring garden which we planted nearly a month and a half ago. It is coming up but due to the frequent cold spells we have been getting, has been slow growing. But progress it being made and once the sun really heats up, things will really take off. I think at this point, everything we planted is up except for one variety of potatoes. 

Unphotographed but in the greenhouse in the background are our warmer weather plants growing. We had a minor setback when on an mostly overcast cool day, the temperature inside the greenhouse shot up to 116 degrees F since we hadn't thought to open the windows. It knocked over all the pepper and tomato seedlings so they were laying flat in their planting trays. Fortunately, maybe three-quarters of them eventually stood back up and are thriving again. I think, as of this writing, we are hopefully past our last frost so I can just leave the windows partially open for now 24 hours a day so we don't have to constantly open and close them to prevent the overheating from occurring again. I have bought a wireless thermometer that I can pull up on my smart phone to keep better track of indoor greenhouse temps which will hopefully help out as well. 

Of note and also not photographed, but I picked my first five sprigs of asparagus from our asparagus bed a few days back. I'm not real happy with the stand as about 50% or more of the asparagus I planted has never shown signs of life but there is signs of life among the rest. I may see if I can find some more crowns to plant in the bare spots to see if we can thicken the stand up a bit until it spreads naturally.

Another note is that half of my rhubarb plants growing underneath the windows in the greenhouse below never came up this year. I'm sure it has something to do with poor soil quality and I'll have to figure out what before I replant anymore there. It too is a sure harbinger of spring having sprung in this part of the world.