Let It Be A Challenge

We're having one of the coldest spring/early summer seasons that anyone around here can remember.  Not only have we had no real warm weather yet, but sunshine has been scarce, too.

Yesterday I came across some garden pictures taken in 2010 . . . a year we had an extremely early, warm spring.  Geesh, how depressing when compared to the (non)growth in my garden this year!

But as they say, we have to take what we get when it comes to weather and make the best of it.

I have two beds of cherry tomatoes under cold frames . . . which is the only way they'd still be alive out there in our frigid temps.  The plants were long and leggy when I put them out, but I always strip the little branches and leaves off the bottom two-thirds of my tomato plants and plant them lying down with only the tops sticking up and out of the soil.  That really helps the plants develop strong root systems and the ability to bear more fruit.

My slicing cucumbers are also under a cold frame, but there are no hearty little green sprouts from those seeds yet.

I'm not planting any pickling cucs this year as "somebody" got a little carried away during her last pickling binge, and we have plenty (cases!)  of both dills and sweet pickles to tide us over for this coming year. 

The pepper plants aren't looking as good as when I set them out, but again, I believe the cold frame protection will enable them to survive until Mother Nature chooses to give us a break and send summer growing weather.

The herb and flower bed is probably crammed too full and I'll have to lift some of the flowers out when the herb plants take hold and start to grow (assuming that really will happen), but that's fine.  For now it looks like the best bed (along with maybe the first bed of lettuce) I've got going out there.

My shell peas are up and probably even enjoying this cold spring, but I've not poked any of the warm weather seeds like beans, corn or squash in the ground yet because I'm afraid the seeds would just rot.

The strawberry plants have blossoms and the blueberry bushes are more loaded with blossom buds this year than I've ever seen them.  I'm thinking we'll also get plenty of raspberries again this year, but the patch is getting old and needs to be ripped out and new canes started in a different area of the garden.  Whether that task will be accomplished this year or not remains to be seen.

I can honestly say the majority of my time in the past two weeks in which I've been a neglectful blogger has been spent garbed in very grubby apparel communing with the (albeit cool) soil in the garden.  I've gotten in good amounts of lettuces and other assorted salad greens, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard, kale, beets, turnips, kohlrabi, carrots, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, yellow and red onions, edible podded peas (thanks to Carolyn), potatoes, cucs, peppers, and tomatoes.  Also did some planting of flowers and dividing and transplanting of same.  My panic mode is dissipating and I'm relaxing a bit so you may be hearing from me on a more regular basis again.  (What?  No wild cheering?  Not even a one-handed clap?)

I know those of you suffering in too high temperatures too early in the season would be glad to accept a great, big crate of our cold weather if I could somehow manage to ship it to you.  Seems that no matter where we gardeners choose to call home, gardening is always a challenge because of one factor or another.  But to my mind, whatever harvest we manage to get in return for our efforts is well worth it.  Gardening clothes that will never look clean again, stained hands and fingernails that resist any amount of scrubbing, stiff and sore bodies and all . . . it is worth it.