The News from Kenabeek

Already April! So far our melt has been a gentle one, with no serious flooding or wash-outs. At this point the open fields have been bare for a couple of weeks, and even here “in the bush” the snow is patchy and receding daily. I continue to be surprised by how much shade naked trees cast, even the skinny ones like birch and poplar! We have been having lovely sunny weather, down below freezing overnight but up into the 40’s and even 50’s F, during the day.

I’ve started my tomatoes in the sun room. This year I’m trying three different kinds – cherry tomatoes, an indeterminate beefsteak and a determinate beefsteak. According to one source I ran across, the indeterminates (which flower and bear fruit over an extended period) are more productive for indoor gardening than determinates (which flower and bear fruit over a shorter, more specific time frame). We’ll see. I think I will wait until next year to try peppers again – they seem to be really fussy, dropping their buds if it’s too hot or too cold.

Soon I will bring in my outdoor containers and see if I can’t get a head start on some annuals, so I don’t have to buy them. I’ve been buying seeds like a madwoman and just can’t wait to get out there. We are expecting several days of on-and-off rain which will leave things muddy but should get rid of most of the remaining snow … on the other hand, it’s supposed to get really cold again once the rain stops! It’s always hard to tell at this time of year. Not long after we moved here, there was a stretch of beautiful, balmy spring days, and I of course went out to the garden to start weeding. Imagine my surprise, as I knelt in the sun in T-shirt and jeans, to find that the ground was still frozen except for the top inch or so, so it was impossible to pull anything up by the roots!

Indoors, the hybiscus is still blooming, almost daily. There are still about 30 more buds so there will be blossoms for a long time yet!