Dreaming of Spring Gardening in the Middle of a Wisconsin winter part 2

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I've got seedlings coming up. Lettuce and radish for sure. The seeds survived those temperatures down to 18 degrees for a night.

 

[jvls1942]

still nothing coming up in the garden. not surprised. the nights are still cold.
I took Ollie for a ride yesterday. I graded the driveway. on my last pass I blew a hydraulic hose. I think I can splice it..
.........jiminwisc.......

 

[jvls1942]

a couple of my rhubarbs are up. then we got these cold nights. I haven't checked them since. they should be ok I think.
Annie has PT today. she is getting better by the day. she can do her exercises all by herself, now.
I haven't worked on the tractor at all. Too cold and wet. maybe this weekend will be warmer.
.........jiminwisc.......

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Everything is on hold with these cooler temperatures. Glad to hear Annie is continuing to improve. It is supposed to be a bit warmer for the weekend, but not a lot to do until it really warms up.

 

[jvls1942]

Yesterday I checked the rhubarb. Now there is all kinds of it up through the straw mulch. AND the garlic has sprouted too.. lots of them.
the cold doesn't seem to bother either of them..
.........jiminwisc.......

 

[wyoDreamer]

My redbud shrub has decided that it is time to bloom - so a smattering of snow on the ground this morning and frost for the last 3 nights is not going to stop it from growing flower buds. They are going to open soon.

 

[jvls1942]

yup, my plum and apple tree are showing signs of buds, too.
the garlic and rhubarb are going nuts.
thankfully the grapes are waiting..
.....jiminwisc.......

 

[jvls1942]

Hi noon,
I got the tractor repaired. tested it out by doing a very thorough job of grading the driveway. I like to do it when it is wet.
as long as I was out there, I turned the wood chip pile over with the bucket. It is about as rotted as it will get. It looks like nice fluffy black dirt..
Fed Ex brought me two apple and two cherry trees. I want to dig the holes for them with the tractor bucket. Only with all this rain we are getting every other day, it is too wet to try to get the tractor in there. If I break through sod, it gets mighty greasy , and then I am stuck..
btdt..
........jiminwaUSAu.......

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

We graded the driveway recently too. We will need a load of gravel this year. Wish we had a loader.

Fruit trees are starting to blossom here.

Don't get stuck Jim. That's no fun.

 

[jvls1942]

well, I took a chance. Took Ollie and went to try to dig the four holes for the trees. It was wet, but the sod held. I got all four holes dug in about a half an hour. the holes are as long as the bucket is wide . (6 feet) the holes look like shallow graves. I have plenty of compost to fill in the holes with. that should give plenty of room for the roots to spread
I bought a load of granite for the driveway last summer. I would like to borrow a box blade and really get the humps down. Annie said I should buy one. but I can't see spending about $800.oo for something that I might use only two or three times..
......jiminwisc........