As it’s been unseasonably hot, breezy, and very dry, we’re in extreme danger of experiencing a wildfire. Of course, we’re always very careful of any fires and now we don’t even burn the wood stove on cool evenings as there’s always the possibility of fly ash setting the dry swamp grass ablaze. We’re the most worried about vacationers in the area having bonfires as few understand how dangerous that is. (Many of them escape the yard and set the woods on fire!) We’re supposed to get scattered showers but I’m not seeing that today.

With spring here, our lilacs are in full, astounding bloom.

Because it’s been dry, Will and I have been very busy hauling manure to various gardens and tilling it in. He hauls and I till with my little baby Kubota and tiller. I had trouble getting up on it, even though it’s a small tractor. Then I got the bright idea of using the plastic stool I use when I have to get up in the Ford 4×4 without running boards. Hooray! That works like a charm. I get up and get to tilling. When I’m done, I am just careful to park the tractor exactly where it was next to the stool so I can get off easily. I’ve tilled the Main Garden, Sand Garden, Central Garden, and Wolf Garden twice now. Will tilled the Berry Patch, as that involves lots of backing up. To back up the Kubota, you have to push down very hard on the reverse pedal and that’s kind of painful on my surgical knee.

Will tilled the berry patch so I wouldn’t have to back up, over and over again.

Our fruit trees look awesome so I’m hoping we’ll have a wonderful fruit year. Apples, cherries, plums, apricots, and wild fruit are all blooming heavily. The star, though, is the row of Hansen Bush cherries along our front flower bed. That row is absolutely white with tons and tons of blossoms! Hopefully, each will produce a fat, black cherry. Yum!

The Hansen Bush cherries are going to produce like crazy this year.

I’ve canned up another big batch of asparagus and am working on rhubarb too. Today, I got the Atlantic Giant pumpkins planted. Yesterday, it was the Damun super-sweet corn and Arnie’s Golden Butternut squash. Hopefully, today I’ll also get the Navajo Robin’s Egg Blue corn and Glass Gem Popcorn planted in packs indoors to give it a couple of weeks more growing time as both are a little late. Lots and lots to do yet! — Jackie

23 COMMENTS

  1. I’m glad you are able to do so much with the new knee! I got the blue corn I purchased from you in on Tuesday and planted the green beans this morning. I still have more to do in the garden but things are moving along. I was a bit worried when we got a drencher of a storm night before last because it was hailing little tiny bits and I didn’t want it to get worse but everything was okay. Sure hope you get some rain soon. Here in Idaho we know about drought and wildfires. It seems like we get them every year. Happy gardening!

    • Thank God, we did get a good rain. And no hail, although it was all around us. We’re working like crazy, trying to get everything in. It’s hard, when all of a sudden, it’s TIME!!!

  2. Hi Jackie, Im so glad you can get out and drive your tractor and work in your garden. It sure is good for the soul to be able to work doing things you enjoy. We are having hot and dry weather in Northern Missouri. Highs are in the upper 80s and low 90s. Our rural water association put out an alert yesterday that effective immediately that there is to be no watering of lawns, gardens or filling of pools. The water is to be used for residential drinking and basic use only. This is scary. I do not have a well so my garden is in peril. It will be in Gods hands, and Im sure praying for rain. Thankfully we are not prone to wildfires here, but as hot and dry as it is anything can be possible. Prayers for a great week for you and Will.

    • Prayers did work! We got a nice half inch + of rain! Such a blessing for us, right now. I hope your drought ends soon.

  3. Here in the Copper Basin Alaska we went from high fire danger to enough snow and rain to bring back flooding over the last couple days. Some areas had as much as 8” of snow. We only had rain but the whole house garden and yard are back to being one big puddle and only God knows when the potato ground will be dry enough to plant! Greenhouse and the one hoop house I have planted have standing water on the walkways but at least the plants are fine. Winter storm warning for tonight too. We started out with record snow causing flooding in Glennallen and our land was under puddles in the garden and yard and we were just starting to dry out and now we are right back where we started. Oh well, at least the longest days are still coming!

    • Wow! You sure got enough rain. A year ago, Minnesota was in flood. This year, not so much, despite record snowfall this winter. Luckily, our house and gardens are pretty much all on raised land so we don’t have many problems with excess water. Hang in there!

  4. Forgot to ask if it would be a good idea to plant comfrey on our leach field, which is surrounded by farm field and our lawn? It would be nice looking, perhaps, but would the invasiveness become a huge problem later? We mow the perimeter.

    • Yes, you can plant comfrey on your leach field. It won’t invade the lawn or field unless is gets tilled and spread that way. Just ask Will…..

  5. You crack me up. Seeing Will’s 2 photos…what a hoot! Almost makes up for the ‘Don’t, but he did’ thing, but yep, he’s a guy. Us gals have to shake our heads sometimes.
    I think of you both often, and barely keep up with my 50 x 60 garden. Glad you do all that you can, I sure couldn’t! And now we have a stretch of close to 90 F, so I am inside midday. Us Minnesotans (I’m a former one) don’t do well with that!

    • It’s an Adirondack Gold I got from St. Lawrence Nursery. It’s an offshoot of Manchurian, which blooms early. The frost always gets Manchurians but not the later-blooming Adirondack Gold.

  6. Oh Jackie, I am so hoping the wildfires hold off! Such a devastating thing!
    I absolutely LOVE that picture of Will on the Kubota.
    That Lilac is amazing! I can’t believe how gorgeous it is. Wow
    I will write down the names of the pumpkin, cherry, and I’m hoping you can let me know what apricot grows an produces for you. I have tried 3 different varieties and none have survived.

    • We were blessed with a good rain. So the fire danger is way down now. Thank God!! Our Apricot is Adirondack Gold. It makes small apricots, but when you live as far north as we do, ANY apricot is wonderful.

  7. I am in Arizona and wild fires are a huge problem..we had a wet winter and now everything is trying up..90 percent of the fires where man caused last year..to many people that don’t have a clue about this dry climate..I sure hope you get rain soon

  8. Knee surgery is a bit of a setback for sure. My husband has had both knees replaced and it took quite a while after each operation to be fully functional again.

    Dry here, too, in not-quite-central Vermont. We’re usually well supplied with water in this part of the country, but we haven’t had much rain in the last few weeks – just at the time the plants go into the garden, of course. We’re supposed to get a good hosing this weekend, fingers crossed. The potatoes are in, the peas are coming up, I planted barley for the poultry already, but the summer plants: tomatoes, peppers, squash, and the like won’t go in until next week. Last week one night was 25º so good thing all was safe in the greenhouse.

  9. Will looks so happy on your tractor! Great pic! I hope you get some much needed rain soon so you don’t have to worry about wildfires any more. They had to be very scary.

  10. Hi Jackie! Love your stuff! I am wondering what you recommend to fertilize your apple trees and to help with rhubarb? I planted a rhubarb ball last year and some seed rhubarb. Nothing has come up on either of them? I live in the Upper Peninsula, Munising to be exact!

  11. Busy time of the year. It’s very dry here in Southern Wisconsin. My garden is all planted and is needing water. I haul buckets of water to care for some of the plants. Our fruit trees look good but we’ll see about production. Making things easier ie the bucket is the way to adapt. At least time of the year I even look forward to winter when things slow down. The last thing for me to plant is the sweet potatoes. I think hay prices will be high this year. Nothing is getting cheaper. I’m thankful for having a grandson help me and we share a lot of “wisdom”. We put on 48 tomato cages which is hard on my knees. It’s fun to impart some of accumulated knowledge to a grandson.

  12. Glad to see your knee steadily improving. Ingenious work arounds are also so important, too, until you get to full use. I’m 5 weks out of lumbar fusion and experiencing ups and downs. Improving steadily, then finding healthy muscles complaining of disuse due to movement restrictions. Getting impatient. But, it’s too hot to garden, so that’s a plus, since I’m not allowed to bend over. Still have a bit to harvest as a few plants are hanging in there. Ever picked tomatoes or bean pods with a reacher? I’m getting good at both.

  13. you are really back in the groove! awesome for a knee replacement so soon. busy busy. wildfires; think the public will EVER learn respect for the locals and learn before burn. nope

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