May 12, 2013  and  A Frost Alert!

                                                        Cold Weather!

Okay, who perpetrated the notion that it's SPRING in Lancaster County, PA?? Temperatures will be in the low to mid thirties tonight (Sunday) and again tomorrow night with a chance of frost, a dangerous situation for tender plants. We'll be covering all that we can with containers and blankets to make every effort to prevent possible cold or frost damage. Unfortunately, we can't blanket everything and can only hope we wont lose any of our plantings.  The buckets in the picture will be placed over the plants at sundown.

                                                    The big cover up!

In spite of the weather forecast, it must be spring. The arrival of the first possum babies is a sure sign. The little guy below was out for a stroll. Meanwhile, mom was calling one of our trash cans "home"! She chewed a hole through the side to make a very nice entryway. As much as I hated to do it, I sprinkled about a half ton of organic animal repellent in the area and they were last seen scurrying up the lane, no doubt looking for more hospitable hosts. As much as I may like them, and Lois really doesn't, they have a bad habit of going through a row of tomatoes and munching the front half of one fruit before moving on and munching the facing half of the next tomato.

                                              Is she/he cute or what???

In a break from the vegetable garden, we spent some time at Hoover's greenhouse operation somewhere north of Rothsville, PA. It was our annual splurge on hanging baskets for the courtyard area. We hung them Friday before we read the long range weather forecast. So, they are now inside the house until the weather warms up.

                                     Just waiting for the weather to warm up!

Many plants have popped up in the past week. Carrots have sprouted, green beans are up, as is the corn. The peas have exploded with growth, the asparagus continue to push up spears, the peppers are flowering, and the cucumbers, butternut and all the other squash plants are growing at a fast pace. The broccoli matured and it quickly became part of several meals. We will plant more broccoli in August for a fall picking.

                                         The sugar snap peas are thriving!

Finally, a minor warning about a semi-invasive plant. Some years ago, we decided to add some annual and perennial herbs to our garden. One we thought would be a good addition was "lemon balm". And it is very nice for many uses. However, although I think it's an annual, it seeds its area so heavily that it appears to be a perennial. If you decide to add herbs to your garden, do some research online to determine which might be more of a problem than they are worth!

Thanks for taking a look. I hope to see you again next week!

Comments or questions?  Contact me at chuckscards42@hotmail.com