Almost Spring '16...what are you doing (or have done) Today?

[gumbo2176]

Hit the garden with the tiller to loosen up the soil so I can pull my rows in the areas not planted. It rained very hard last week and finally dried out enough to fluff up the soil and loosen it a bit to make my rows for okra and some more tomato plants. There are also some chard seedlings that will go in, along with some eggplant and a few squash to make the SVB's happy once again. LOL Don't know why I try every year for squash, but I do usually get a first picking before the borers take hold and destroy the plants.

[SPierce]

It snowed So all my stuff is on hold at the moment, except for the cold weather things I planted. Waiting for the weather to warm for a bit so I can plant out a few more things. Also going to head to the garden center tomorrow to get the rest of my seeds for the year, since I can't find where I put all my stuff from last year. Which is frustrating as all get out

[Mr green]

Today have been some out weeding in the light rain.

[tdump]

Went and run the 1962 "approximate year" Springfield garden tractor thru the few rows I have planted in the big garden today. It has a late 80's engine on it. Works ok until your sciatica hits about half way thru the job as it did today. ! I will be using the rider next time!
My corn is about 1.5 inches tall, taters aint coming up much at all yet as far as the 1's I planted. Now some volunteers have come up that will get moved to a row Saturday probably as I aint wasting them. Gota get the "potato plow" as it is called built before harvest time.
Chic weed has come up in the areas I tilled with the tractor a few weeks ago so I will run it thru again later next week.
Hope it warms up in a week or 2 as I want to get some of my tomato plants in the raised beds.

[rainbowgardener]

We are having the same cold snap as much of the rest of the eastern half of the country. So I was out covering the tomatoes, peppers, basil that are in the ground. Tonight is predicted for 40 degrees and tomorrow night close to freezing.

[Gary350]

Crazy weather. 30 degrees and frost last night. 25 mph wind gusting to 40. Heavy over cast and 6" of mud.

[tdump]

Yea, I am ready for this wind to be gone. making a mess of the yard with branches and leaves from the wooded areas blowing everywhere.

[Allyn]

I picked enough green beans, lettuce and tomatoes last evening to have a salad and a side with dinner. I have gobs of green tomatoes; all the tomato plants have green tomatoes and/or blossoms on them.

[rainbowgardener]

Cool and windy here today, but we are planting two dwarf peach trees (to go with the two apple trees we planted last fall)!

[applestar]

-- Those white blobs are BIG fat snowflakes --
I stayed inside and Uppotted tomatoes. I set up the spreadsheet to count how many of each have been planted in which container (Coconut Milk and Rice Milk container counts are mis-leading -- those show how many varieties are planted in them since there can be multiples per section and multiple sections per container)

[imafan26]

Today I picked some green beans and checked on the irrigation system. It has been very windy so the pots are drying out much faster. I have to pot up some plants and put some in the ground soon because they are drying up too fast.

[NJ Bob]

Still too damn cold here. Did some up-potting of tomatoes but I'm running out of indoor room.

[Mr green]

Still too damn cold here. Did some up-potting of tomatoes but I'm running out of indoor room.

I feel you! This seems to become a problem every year, even tho I try to increase and increase space!
Been awesome weather here today, went to a park with the family.

[Allyn]

Oh! Oh! I saw a hummingbird at my petunia baskets this morning. I don't know if it was the first of the season or if it was just the first one I saw, but yay!

In the garden? I picked more green beans.

[SPierce]

Well, my peppers are still slow growing but still doing pretty well - they're finally growing their first set of true leaves. After loosing a few more Brussels Sprouts plants (only the strongest will survive!) the stronger seedlings are starting to get hardened off and are doing their thing outside in the sun. Each is currently on their 3rd or 4th set of true leaves at the moment, but it's still frosting over at night/morning so I'm hesitant to leave them out at night.

Planted my seeds for tomato and pumpkin/watermelon/cantelope starts. Now it's a waiting game to wait for them to come up and do their own thing. Guess I have a week or so left before I really know what will be good and what won't. I planted a huge variety of options, mostly cherry type tomatoes since I don't do a lot with the bigger ones... and we'll see from tehre!

[ButterflyLady29]

Dug some weedy black raspberries out of my large flower pots.

And wondering if my tomato, tomatillo, eggplant and pepper seeds were frozen since I forgot to put the trays in the shed during our little freeze spell. May have to replant those.

[gumbo2176]

Getting ready to build an Ark with all the rain we've been having. I can hold pirogue races between my rows for the past couple days and am so glad I got a bit of a late start with my tomato plants. Last year at this time I had dozens of tomatoes ripening and we got tons of rain that caused most of them to split and I had to toss them into the compost pile. Once they split, the bugs took over and did their thing.

Thank goodness most everything I wanted to plant is already in the ground or I'd have to wait several days for the garden to dry out before working the soil.

[applestar]

Gumbo-- I was wondering about your gardening efforts with so much rain you've been getting. Glad to hear that the timing seem to be working out.

[gumbo2176]

My biggest concern right now is potential root rot setting in if it keeps raining for a few more days. My soil is like swamp mud right now and if I walked in the garden it would literally ooze up between my toes. I did make my rows where the tops are about 10 inches above the walking paths between them and most of my current plants are still fairly small, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Thanks for your post and well wishes.

[imafan26]

It is raining right now, but it has been raining mostly at night. We do need the rain. I will probably be pulling mildewed leaves off tomatoes again today.

Yesterday I did have time to plant some garden chives, borage, hawaiian chiliies, eggplant, and toscano kale. I [potted up some long green eggplant and poblano peppers from the community pots and continued my war on slugs and put out more slug bait. I did take more cuttings from the lavender. I potted up the lavender cuttings from January and I lost one but the rest look like they are starting to put on new leaves. Some of the seeds I planted two weeks ago are starting to sprout. I need to pick the broccoli side shoots before they sprout and I finally planted the zucchini out in the veggie garden.

[Allyn]

I have crawfish (or crayfish or even crawdads, depending on where you are) in my yard, that's how wet and swampy it is, but everything in my SiPs are doing good. Something is nibbling my peppers, but if they only take a little, that's okay. I picked three slugs (not what is nibbling the peppers) off my marigolds and squished them before I picked more green beans.

[applestar]

Ha! You could say "I harvested crawfish in my garden today"

...stay dry...

[gumbo2176]

I have crawfish (or crayfish or even crawdads, depending on where you are) in my yard, that's how wet and swampy it is, but everything in my SiPs are doing good. Something is nibbling my peppers, but if they only take a little, that's okay. I picked three slugs (not what is nibbling the peppers) off my marigolds and squished them before I picked more green beans.

I cooked up a 40 lb. sack of crawfish this past Sunday with all the fixings, cold beer and just 3 of us to enjoy the mudbugs. We picked the meat, reserved the fat and I cleaned 220 heads to make a nice pot of crawfish bisque. I wound up stuffing only 180 of them to go in the nearly 3 gallons of sauce I made. I love to eat bisque, but it sure is a labor of love to make a nice pot of it.

My sister-in-law lives in Slidell and her back yard is looking like a scene from a horror movie with all the towering mud piles from crawfish digging their holes.

[gumbo2176]

We had a really wet fall, and now a damp spring, and for the first time since we moved here we have crawdads around the barn!
I've been told to take a piece of bacon on a string and drop it down the hole, and when the crawdad latches on, pull him/her up and drop her/him in a bucket. Then you purge them with cornmeal.
If it rains as predicted over the weekend, we may have some crawfish etoufee!

I've purged thousands of pounds of crawfish over the years and the easiest way for most that boil them in large quantities is to put them in a large enough container (mine is a #3 washtub), add a bit of salt to some enough water to cover them and let them frolic in it for a while. This causes them to purge and you'd be surprised how dirty the water becomes.

I boiled a 40 lb. sack Sunday and used a half pound of salt and about 10 gallons of water to purge mine. Trick is to not let them in there too long----maybe 15-20 minutes and remove them to a container while the water in the boiling pot comes to a rolling boil with all your seasonings flavoring the water.


Save the cornmeal for frying fish. LOL

[JayPoc]

I started this mess, so I'll update my progress. Beds are cleared out, and over-wintered collards and kale are soldiering on. My garlic chives have re-emerged and are going nuts. Onions (plants from Dixondale, they are THE BEST), lettuces (red romaine and butter crunch), and broccoli (sun king) are in the ground. Peas were direct sown a couple weeks ago, have come up, and I filled in the gaps with peas I started in flats. Tomatoes and peppers are coming along terrifically in solo cups on the porch (I have pictures up on the tomato progress board), and I have more chives and onions started from seed (for use as green onions) in containers. Just kind of twiddling my thumbs on waiting to start some warmer weather stuff....getting close!

[jasonvanorder]

A little over a month ago I got half the garden retilled after adding some bunny poo to the mix. Planted garlic the next weekend Looks to be doing real good. Now about 3 weeks ago planted red and yellow onions. The reds were from sets and look to be doing good but the yellows were plants and of course we got a freeze and some snow after. Covered them but not sure if they will make it. If not still have time to replant with some new sets and call it good.

[JayPoc]

but the yellows were plants and of course we got a freeze and some snow after. Covered them but not sure if they will make it. If not still have time to replant with some new sets and call it good.

Jason, the onion plants can probably withstand temps below 20 degrees F. Last year, I had some in the ground for about 2 weeks and we had a night that got down to 17! Probably 95% of what I had survived. The snow would be no problem at all....just extra insulation.

[Allyn]

Ha! You could say "I harvested crawfish in my garden today" ...

I know, right?

...I cooked up a 40 lb. sack of crawfish this past Sunday with all the fixings, cold beer and just 3 of us to enjoy the mudbugs. ...My sister-in-law lives in Slidell and her back yard is looking like a scene from a horror movie with all the towering mud piles from crawfish digging their holes.

Man, I could hurt myself on some crawfish. Two things I've found since moving down here that I really like are crawfish and andouille sausage.

It's really wet on one side of the property and it's not unusual for me to be tripping over those "crawfish condos," as my husband calls them, while I'm hanging cloths on the line. Those piles of mud are slippery, too.

[JayPoc]

It's so crazy...you guys in the gulf coast area are getting swamped...literally...and here it's been so darn dry that I'm watering every night and I can't keep up. We got a half inch of snow Saturday. No rain for days before that, and not a drop predicted in the next 10 days. The air is so dry, we're not even getting dew in the morning. Very strange. An April with no April showers....

[gumbo2176]

Man, I could hurt myself on some crawfish. Two things I've found since moving down here that I really like are crawfish and andouille sausage.

It's really wet on one side of the property and it's not unusual for me to be tripping over those "crawfish condos," as my husband calls them, while I'm hanging cloths on the line. Those piles of mud are slippery, too.

I've found the absolute best Andouille sausage is what you find in Laplace along Airline Hwy. off US 51. I've been getting mine from there for years from a little shop in a strip mall called Bailey's. Take I-10 W. and get off at the first Laplace exit, hook a left on Hwy. 51 and go to Airline Hwy. and take a right. About half mile from the red light at that intersection is Bailey's on the left hand side of the hwy. in a little strip mall. They make, and smoke it on site.

[Mr green]

Never cared much for thos crawfish eating them makes you more hungry since you spend more energy working on them than you will get food from them. Its like only eating the seeds from cavendish bananas lol.

Havent done anything today yet, the kid let me sleep to 11! I guess I needed that but it was abit too long. Will be planting some seeds today, outdoors and indoors.

[Allyn]

Never cared much for thos crawfish eating them makes you more hungry since you spend more energy working on them than you will get food from them. Its like only eating the seeds from cavendish bananas lol....

I'll offer that if you're spending that much time and effort to eat them, you're doing it wrong -- either in the cooking or the eating. I can tear through a mess of crawfish in a hurry.

[JayPoc]

Never cared much for thos crawfish eating them makes you more hungry since you spend more energy working on them than you will get food from them. Its like only eating the seeds from cavendish bananas lol....

I'll offer that if you're spending that much time and effort to eat them, you're doing it wrong -- either in the cooking or the eating. I can tear through a mess of crawfish in a hurry.

Lol...was thinking the same thing. Crawdads are a whole lot easier to eat than steamed shrimp, etc. Now Blue Crabs, thats another matter all together. They're awesome, but a lot of work and always leave my hands all cut up and sore.

[gumbo2176]

I love all sorts of highly seasoned, boiled seafood and SE Louisiana is famous for it's boiled seafood and assorted dishes fixed with it. I can tear through boiled crawfish with ease, but it does take about 6-7 lbs. of them in order for you to get about 1 lb. of tail meat out of them. Shrimp have a much better yield as far as amount of meat per lb., and if cooked right, they peel very easily too. But like folks from this region, I don't just boil the seafood. I also use onions, garlic, lemons, celery, bay leaves, corn, potatoes, mushrooms, sausage, artichokes an assortment of seasonings and anything else I feel like tossing in the pot. And for those that do boil in that highly seasoned water, next time toss in a corned beef brisket and let it boil for a couple hours after you get done with the seafood. Just take some of the boiling liquid in an appropriate sized pot and move it to the stove to save on propane. To die for!!!!

Blue crabs are another favorite of mine and I like both the males and females for different reasons. The females, if fat, are great eating with all that yellow to orange fat inside the shells. The males are much easier to pick the meat out of the shells, but often have much less fat. Now I'm sufficiently hungry-------off to find something to eat. LOL

[jal_ut]

Sitting here watching it snow............

[rainbowgardener]

It's why I don't live where you do, James, even though it is so beautiful to look at your pictures! Here it is 70 degrees with bright warm sunshine!

I am off to the local spring native plant sale!

and we saw our first hummingbird last night!

[SPierce]

Two tomatoes and a pumpkin have come up so far. I'm so ecstatic at the signs of even just little things!

Sitting here watching it snow............

Aw. Hope it warms up a little for you soon! You must be so restless.

[jal_ut]

At present its 48 degrees and breezy. The snow we had earlier has melted. Garden too wet to get on. I guess the onions and garlic will love the moisture?

[Mr green]

Never cared much for thos crawfish eating them makes you more hungry since you spend more energy working on them than you will get food from them. Its like only eating the seeds from cavendish bananas lol....

I'll offer that if you're spending that much time and effort to eat them, you're doing it wrong -- either in the cooking or the eating. I can tear through a mess of crawfish in a hurry.

Lol...was thinking the same thing. Crawdads are a whole lot easier to eat than steamed shrimp, etc. Now Blue Crabs, thats another matter all together. They're awesome, but a lot of work and always leave my hands all cut up and sore.

What? I could eat shrimps way faster, and the small shrimps have almost as much food as the much bigger crawdads, or the ones you have are huge like the lobsters. Best thing about the crawdad partys whas the booze, only problem is booze makes you more hungry. I'm a happy vegan these days and am happy I have nothing that messy on my menu.

Planted some more seeds today, 4 different kinds of kale, eggplant, okra, leafy goosefoot, and some cukamelons that got interestin in by this site. All this things except 1 of the kales is a new for me so thats very interesting!

We had some rain today.

[JayPoc]

I guess I just get tired of peeling shrimp. The fact that the crawdads essentially peel themselves is the key thing for me. But I'm not a fan of the head end, so if I can't find a partner willing to take the extra heads, I'm a poor guest.