But last night, it was -40° F! That surprised us, as we’d been expecting (via the weather forecast) temps in the -20s. Boy, did the house ever snap and creak! All houses do that when it gets very cold, but log houses do it even more, as the logs are sort of like living beings. When you’re sound asleep and a log pops like a gunshot, it sure opens your eyes! And just think, yesterday, I was going over the list of tomato varieties I plan on planting this year, first in the house, then moving them to the wonderful greenhouse Will built for me last spring, and finally, into the Sand and Wolf Gardens. I’ve narrowed it down to 119 varieties (and there’s going to be several plants of some of them, to ensure we get enough seeds). That’s a lot of plants, but not as many as we did last year. Every year, we weed out the less-good of the great tomatoes and try new ones. Some make the cut — others are just used for tomato sauce and no seed is saved. We are very picky about our tomatoes!

It won’t be too long before I start my little tomato seeds (around the 1st of April here). So, I have to carefully plan on what I’m going to plant.
And soon, the greenhouse will be full of plants. (It’s better to think about that than -40 nights!)

We’re tickled that our little deer herd that we’re feeding is doing so well. There are seven “regulars” and nine to ten that come here and there. All are yearlings, fawns, and does (that we can tell). Now that the snow is getting deep, it’s harder and harder for the deer to get feed and get around.

Here come our resident deer. You just yell “here deer, here deer” and out of nowhere, here they come.

Last week, we saw the tracks of five or six wolves on the driveway. It’s nearing the wolf breeding season, so they’re traveling around more. I do hope Hondo’s barking will keep them away from the immediate area around the buildings. We haven’t had any losses to wolves in 17 years, but we do live in their country, after all. You can’t move into a critter’s territory and expect them to just move on off. You’ve got to learn to co-habit the area peacefully. We don’t shoot at wolves we see in the woods and, so far, they haven’t killed livestock for us. Now if people could just get along so well… — Jackie

25 COMMENTS

  1. Feeling Blessed here in Kansas
    Weather moderated to 40’s and
    50’s for high. Started our Spring
    Calving season. Polled Hereford
    And cute cute cute. Never get
    Weary of those fresh faced babies
    My special day is got my second
    Order mailed today. The selections
    I want to try and interesting sounding
    Possibles. Thanks for keeping us
    All inspired.

    • Golly, we’re trying but will sure be glad when this winter weather moderates some. Today we’re getting 6 inches of blowing, drifting snow and a high of 9 degrees F. Brrrr.

  3. We had a cold snap here in Texas. We actually had some snow but it sleeted first. The high yesterday was only 26 where I am. They predicted wind chills of -5 during the night and possible day. I thought of you and the cold you were having.

  4. It’s been super cold here too. Keeping the stove going and staying warm though.
    I’m excited about Spring without question.
    I have apple tree starts to go out in warmer weather and lots of other plants growing inside. Many will be kept growing inside and soon to start the ones to go out in Spring.
    It’s good you are selective on what you keep for seeds. Always making sure you have the cream of the crop is definitely a priority.
    It’s nice to have the deer coming to eat. I agee with the deep snow it’s a lot harder for them to find food.
    My sister in Northern Iowa was driving today taking my mom to Mayo Clinic in Rochester and with the wind blowing the snow and so cold she said the deer seemed a little disoriented. They are a treasure to watch them come eat though.
    I haven’t seen any wolves around here. I would imagine Hondo would let them know he’s there if should be too close. My dogs would be on high alert as well.
    Have a good night and stay toasty warm.

    • Oh, he lets them know, for sure. Sometimes, when they’re howling, he joins in. At first his “howls” were so funny we couldn’t stop laughing. But finally, he’s got it down. This wind is awful, blowing snow sideways. Hoping for more spring-like weather.

  5. Those plants look so good and are encouraging at this time of year. We had the popping of the house too. Boy that can get your heart going!!

    If you were to buy a rototiller than isn’t so heavy but easy to use what would you get? Troy Bilt Pony? I can’t push really heavy things.

    Thanks!

    • We’ve got both a TroyBilt horse and a Bronco. The horse is fine, pulling itself but is kind of heavy to turn around at the end of rows. The Bronco also pulls itself but is much easier to turn around although the Horse really does a better job tilling. You might also like the Mantis. It’s very light and easy to use. And boy does it till; sort of like hanging onto a mad weasel’s tail.

      • I got a Mantis-type so I’d have a tiller that I could handle. My garden ground is so hard with clay that the tiller just hops and skips about and does not good whatsoever. So I had to dig up my rows and amend them every year and leave the ground outside them, hard as a rock.

        • Yep, clay is hard. In New Mexico, our soil was caliche, which is a clay-sand mix they use to make adobe bricks. I could only till after a good, soaking rain or if I watered the soil very well the day before tilling. After two years of heavy additions of rotted manure, the garden soil had dramatically changed; I could till any time I wanted!

    • I have a couple of ‘Sun Joe’ electric outdoor tools. A leaf shredder and a wood chipper. They are great. I think they make a battery electric tiller, too. You might investigate that. I’ve not used the tiller, but the product line seems OK. Not for acres obviously, but they do seem to be well built – and no ‘starting’ problems

  6. Those wolves might be coming around to check out those nice plump deer you have been feeding! It’s the cycle of life I guess…
    I value your input about the timing of starting the tomato seeds inside in the window. So I shall wait until early April this year. Perhaps they won’t get too big or leggy this time. Wish me luck!

    • It’s always a huge temptation to get started planting indoors! But I TRY to hold off by planting some seeds that take awhile to get big enough to set out like petunias, onions and pansies. Even a few habanero peppers if I’m feeling REALLY impatient, as they grow so slowly. All the best of luck with this spring’s planting!

  7. As always, I also enjoy your post. My goal for today is to plant my two new fruit trees. I also have to do some reviewing on grafting. My goal is to graft some new fruit varieties onto a few of the fruit trees I have already on my property.

    • Grafting is such fun! You can totally change the dynamics of your trees by adding a few branches of other varieties. It’s going to be months before we can plant any fruit trees. The ground’s frozen 7′ deep and there’s 3′ of snow on top of that. So far.

  8. This week I started my peppers,cole plants, leeks, celery, broccoli, kale and cauliflower. Today I went ahead and planted my tomatoes also. I start my seeds this early because I keep my house cold to save on the electric bill.

    • Ooh, I hope you live in the south. We start our peppers about 12 weeks before we’ll set them outside, tomatoes 10 weeks before going out, cole crops, melons, watermelons, squash and pumpkins only 4 weeks before as they easily get root bound. Such broccoli and cauliflower will usually only make “button heads” then quit. Also, seeds germinate best in warmth, such as 70 degrees, plus. I hope you have a heat mat under yours or have them in a warm spot. We germinate our seeds behind and next to our living room wood stove.

  9. Jackie, how do you heat your greenhouse in April? Propane is so expensive, and I don’t have electricity in the greenhouse. That would be expensive too if using it to heat. We’ve used propane tanks with attached heater lamps the last two years and the tanks only last two nights. The propane in our area has jumped to 3.29 a gallon this month. I’m very thankful our primary heat in the farmhouse is wood.

    • We heat our greenhouse with propane. We’ve found it isn’t too expensive as during most days, the wall heater doesn’t even come on as the sun warms it so nicely. Wow! Our propane is still under $2. But in the spring it usually will come down a lot. We used a 100 pound tank, which cost less to fill than the small tanks as you pay by the gallon. Then we got a 250 pound tank, set up across from the greenhouse so our propane company can fill from their truck, again, paying by the gallon, not the more expensive fill/exchange with the small tanks. We’re so glad, too, that we heat our house with wood!

      • You know, I’m sure my seedlings would do better (I do use warming mats) if at night the greenhouse were heated. I think I’ll try a propane tank/heater as you’re talking about. I’m in zone 9. My soil is at under fifty degrees, and the ambient greenhouse temp get to 80 F.

        • When we switched from a small tank to a wall-mounted ventless propane heater, not only did our propane last longer but the greenhouse stayed warmer. Good luck!

  10. The hardest part of this time of year for me is waiting to start the seeds. Last year I started too early and some died before I was able to put them in the ground. I am going to try your method of using the pods and then covering those with potting soil also. I never thought of doing that until I saw you do it. All your years of experience are shinning though!

      • Lisa is talking about peat pellets, which are compressed. You soak them in hot water and they swell up. Then you plant your seeds in them, place in a container, slip a plastic bag over them and place in a warm spot to germinate. When they pop up, you place them in direct sunlight or under a light to grow on.

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