Monday, April 6, 2009

Odds and Ends and Snow??

Thanks so much for all the encouraging comments and emails!  I DO love this life...I tend to wonder about that at times...not often mind you... but occasionally....especially at  midnight when I'm damp and cold :)

The last two days have been beautiful spring days.  I was able to spend a lot of time outside and in the greenhouse.  Little green sprouts are popping up all over the greenhouse!

Today, they are calling for snow.  SNOW??!!!!   Sigh.....winter just can't give up its grip.  It is cold, windy and dark today....it looks like and feels like it might snow!  I'd call this blackberry winter but the blackberries aren't blooming....perhaps it is apple winter since my apple trees are just about to bloom.  I am praying that this freeze (28 tonight) doesn't kill our apple crop this year...at least not all of it!  This is one of the reasons it is good to have variety in your orchard.  You don't want everything blooming at once..sort of like putting all of your "eggs in one basket"!

Josiah and I will be grafting 10 more trees this week to add to our little orchard.  Lovely apples with names like Garden Apple, Horse Apple, Green Limbertwig, Strawberry Apple....and the list goes on.  All old varieties from this area.  My mouth is watering already!

I am placing some propane heaters in the greenhouse for the next few nights to protect all my plant babies!  And, I'll be spending most of tomorrow down there...planting more varieties.  I think I have done about 600 tomatoes this year....some for a plant sale but most of them will be going into the ground here....about 400 I am thinking....

I am off today for a local speaking engagement.  I speak a lot locally this time of year.  I will also be speaking at the Exchange Place in Kingsport TN the last weekend of this month.  Hope to see some of you there...please introduce yourself as a reader if you come...I'd love to meet you all!  It is a lovely Spring festival held every year on an historic farm.  There will be thousands of plants for sale...all kinds....and many activities for children.  I know my own boys will be participating again in the Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle contest on Sunday that weekend.

This evening I will post the April Gardening Calendar page...stay tuned for what you should be doing in your garden this month!

I'm going to go find my mittens....

Blessings,

5 comments:

  1. I so wish I had found you while I was living in Tn. It would have been neat to have met you. I hope the apple trees come out unscathed. I can so relate about the winter we had snow again yesterday morning. I just want spring to get here and stay.
    Hugs
    Amy

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  2. 400 tomato plants? Do you can all those?

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  3. I'm right there with you on the freeze, Cheri!! Remember '07?! Yikes. I'm most concerned about the peaches. We've got lots and they've set small fruits already.

    Sadly, our apples have not done well....ever. But I don't believe a night or two of relatively light frosts will hurt them in bloom. I could be wrong.

    Have you posted about grafting your own trees? If so, link it please. I have books but it is always nice to see it done.

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  4. Wow do you put in a lot of tomatoes! I can't even imagine trying to manage that many tomatoes at one time. I'll be praying for you. We've been dealing with the snow up here too. I woke up to about 6 inches of heavy wet snow this morning, glad I covered my newly transplanted blueberry bushes before the snow started.

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  5. Amy,
    I make my own ketchup, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce and then I also can tomatoes for use in soups and stews. I freeze about 5 gallons for use in fresh salsa through the winter. It takes about 45 lbs. of tomatoes for 6 quarts of sauce or 6 pints of ketchup...hence the huge number of tomato plants...and that doesn't count fresh eating!
    Blessings,
    Cheri

    Kristin,
    I will try to remember to take pictures during our grafting this week.
    Blessings,
    Cheri

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