Sure & Begorrah It Was A Day For the Plantin o' the Peas!

Hello again! I hope you all survived your St. Patty's Day shenanigans!

I had originally thought we'd plant the sugar snap peas this coming weekend, but the weather was just too perfect today (3/17).   I couldn't help myself. The early temps were moving toward the fifties and the sun was shining brightly. After a morning of cleaning up the irises and lots of other debris, I had to get the peas in the ground. That wasn't as simple as it sounds, but after turning the soil and top dressing with a few inches of new soil, it was ready. We actually planted the seeds in 2 beds totalling 15 feet. Peas are planted at 2" intervals, so there will be 48 plants in the 8' row and another 42 in the 7' row. Lois is finished planting the 8' row in the picture above. This variety grows to about 5' tall so the rows will be trellised in some fashion to support the vines as they grow. Last year's snap pea planting provided 8.5 pounds of peas.

The weather will hold for about a week, but there promises to be some frost late next week, so the rows will need to be protected. We had the same situation last year (we planted peas on March 16, 2010) and on the 26th and 27th we had frosts that the peas survived with the help of old blankets. The blankets are ready if needed again this year.

Today (3/18), we received the dwarf blueberry bushes we ordered in January. I picked up 2 bags (40 lbs each) of topsoil and 2 new containers. After filling the containers and planting the bushes, I topped them off with a mulch of oak leaves and Alberta Spruce needles. This will help in two ways: the plants like to stay moist (but not wet). The oak leaves and regular light watering will provide that. And they like an acidic soil which the spruce needles, in addition to the oak leaves, will provide as they break down in the moist environment. (There was about 25 pounds of soil leftover which I used to dress another bed.) This variety is a mid sized dwarf bush, not the smallest of dwarf varieties. I'll have to look at it next year to see if they need larger pots.

And late in the morning, I noticed that some of the yellow crocus plants are beginning to bloom!

Mike B. sent a message telling me he has started peat pots with some Big Red and Bulgarian tomato seeds saved from last year's garden. It's his first attempt at starting tomatoes from seed. I wonder if they have cross pollinated into a Big Red Bulgarian? Good luck with that Mike! So, what are the rest of the gardener readers doing? I really enjoy hearing that kind of news!

Have a great weekend!  I'll see you again on Sunday or Monday.