Here in West Michigan we have had some unseasonably warm spells, causing everything to start popping up a little early. I hope my bulb plants can withstand a couple more frosts. I have been drawing up my vegetable garden layout, which I am sharing with some relatives, kind of a private community garden.I am soon to start my indoor vegetables, though my big concern is eggplant, since they require a longer growing season than we get here. I am also adding some more perennials and annuals. I am planning to add some Echinacea (my favorite perennial) and some climbing roses to the deck. I am also considering a Golden Chain tree.

You could start your eggplants when you start your tomatoes. If you are worried about transplanting them, you could make your own newspaper pots then you just plant the pot and all and the roots are not bothered. I am actually getting a jump start on my peas and stuff too, this way. You can make the pots as big or little as you wish. You can go to youtube and search for the video homemade newspaper pots and they show you how. You can go as small as a tomato paste can and as large as a tomatoes can or pumpkin can. I mostly use a vege can but have made them all three sizes.

I have been doing a little bit of everything. I too had a warm spell so I began cleaning out garden beds until the cold snap came back. I also trimmed on the apple tree some, still need to finish that. I started pruning rose bushes, which I will continue this weekend along with my clematis. If it is dry enough, I would like to begin tilling this weekend. I wil Winter sow lots and lots this weekend, and start more vege seeds. I have stated cabbage, broccoli, swiss chard, onions, petunias, tomatoes, lettuce. I am also planning the vege garden layout, herb garden, new flower beds, and brooding new chicks. I have just started a worm bin, am receiving cuttings from a swap next week so I will prepare for that, and collecting aquarium water to use on the houseplants and seedlings.

Jeesh, I just read my to do list and I am exhausted. I also have 1 final swap to prepare and two trades I just made to get in the mail. Busy Busy. Some day I will clean my toilets and do laundry but right now I have to play in the dirt and seeds. LOL

Nichol

ugh i gotta do the cleaning up too. seeds to sow, cut down the pampas grass, make my veggie n flower beds bigger. wish the mud would dry up. could be snow so i cant yip to much.
this weekend ill get started on my todo stuff.

ive seen a pic someone had those golden chain trees lined up their road. it was sooo pretty!

Well,we turned nasty again. Rainy and wet all week.Garden club postponed our Wed. field trip to Cracker Barrel for lunch then on it a rose nursery until this coming Wed.

Couldn't even get out to dig and clean plants I had hoped to take to market today so I made several Gardeners Easter Gift baskets but it was still to darn cold this am to even think about going. Only 51 for a high today but warming back up to mid to hi 70's for the rest of the week.

Weather's been nasty all week and so has my temperment. *Grumble-Grumble*

I was going to make some bunnies and chicks for Easter to sell at market but even my sewing machine has been in a bad temperment too.Maybe I'll give a good cleaning,oiling and tune up and try again.

The Good News is...even with the nasty weather,I have lots of new seedlings sprouting in the cold greenhouse.

Peggy

sorry they cancled your trip bigred.
im waitin for the x to pick up our daughter. [rollin eyes] hes a hour n half late. n my teens are not here. i want to clean up n dig the veggie garden wider today. to cold n muddy to be taking her outside. i need to clean the cold greenhouse up n get it ready for spring sowing.
may work on my canning jar quilt till i can get outside n do some real gardening lol.

it "suppose" to be sunny and warmer today but I'm not believing a word "They" say until I stick my head out the door and see for myself. *G*

We had started cleaning up a coule of old chest type freezers.Taking the lids off...painting them a grass green color so later I can paint flowers on them ...purtying them up as they can be seen from the road. Going to put them up on cement blocks up against the fence around the vegetable garden and move some of my strwberry plants into them so I don't have to bent,kneel or sit to pick fruit. Now if th weather would co-operate so I can get that done

I guess I could do some housework but....EUW!....LOL

Speaking of housework, we did some serious spring cleaning this weekend. Moved SIL out and into her new apt. It was raining the whole time but it didn't bother me at all. Next we dusted, vaccumed, cleaned the carpet and windows in our house and put everything back the way it use to be.
I tilled my garden already so this week I need to plant some onions and lettuce and maybe a few other cool season vegetables. I usually have 10 to 15 flats of flowers that I start each year so I need to work on that this week.
jim_6b

Well Jim...can I get you to come to my house?*G*

jim could i get you to come by my house too? lol.
holy cow were dose the dust come from? im tierd of dusting today! still a bit to chilly to go outside. hope it warms up soon.
bigred thats a great idea using the chest freezers for raised beds. bet they look pretty painted.

i got the veggie garden cleaned out n dug out more yesterday, still want to make it a bit more bigger.
flower bed need cleaned out n made bigger too. im to lazy to do it in fall. lol. really im to busy collecting seeds n pking them up in the fall:)

I have an electric leaf blower that I use to keep the garage clean. Works real good. Wonder if I could use it inside.
jim_6b

Hmmm...leaf blower...housework? Wonder if.....?....LOL

Warm yesterday but grey until about noon then the sun came out. Now if my veggie garden can dry out so I can weed and sew. Today,I'm cleaning flowerbeds,mowing and raking.YAY!

Hi Chrizty and gang!

I am still working on my thug...digging star of Beth bulbs...aka sob...and will be for several weeks to come. I feel guilty if I stray from digging them, knowing I only have the one window of time in the spring months to dig them while the foliage is visible.....whine.

Do you have a garden thug, or multiple garden thugs?

hmmm...while digging today, I need to come up with a new qotw (question of the week)

Whoo-Hoo! A change of plans and I'm getting off the farm and going to help a friend with some heavier gardening tasks.

It's Helen Trueblood, (90 years old and going strong!) a long time daffodil grower (her whole life) and collector. She will likely have a lot more in bloom than I have and she is such a joy to work with and to learn from.

We are cutting down a fairly big holly tree she no longer wants, and I'll be salvaging many clippings from it. Possibly there will be other goodies as well. She has tons and tons of plants, a lot of them very unique to me...like a deciduous holly and a holly with gold berries, among other unique things. She is sharing a well rooted sucker of a red honeysuckle and an Annabelle Hydrangea that I know of for sure.

Sue

Hi Sue
i was just thinkin about that topic. pullin out those jaggerweeds? dont know their name. the roots were everywere!
jim dont give us ideas lol. to tempting to try it! good thing i dont have a leaf blower lol
i did get the veggie garden dug out more yesterday its about 20ftx20ft. may make it bigger.? its going in to the 60s today!!
checked my wintersown, got sprouts!!!!! all the poppys but california sprouted!!!! whoohoo! gotta keep a eye on em now.
going through seeds to see what to start next today.

I also use it to clean out my work truck and my DW's van. It works better than the vacuum. I guess you could attach all mirrors and pictures to the walls.
jim_6b

a shop vac would be great lol.
i got the cold green house clean up n some seeds started.
i was thinking of puttin in a starter /trade bed near it. i like mixed plantings n it would be easier if i put some aside in a bed for trading latter on. that way ill know what im digging up lol.
last spring i was gonna do that with my daffs, [put a few in named beds] i had them dug up n sorted till my son knocked em over the bank, they spilled n got mixed again ugh lol. gonna try again this year.

green house has been cleaned up, so far i sowed 29 diffrent seeds. 31 counting the peppers. still have lots more to sow. between the cold greenhouse n wintersowing i should have a beauitful yard this year! all thanks to GW! ive never had this many seeds before.
i got a spot raked out for a starter bed,needs weeded. and one pampassgrass cut down. it rained all day so i worked in the gh.
ill haveta check the weather. if its nice out ill do more outside work, if its rain, ill be in the gh:)
i also worked on my plan's. still needs work but i got most of the plant's a spot in the gardens....

Chrizty,

I wonder what those jaggerweeds are that you speak of. I have just a couple of something that sounds similar to them. I dig as deep as I can with the hand digger, but they break off and come back. The next time I go to dig them, I will get the potato fork and get the whole root hopefully.

It sounds like you are moving right along with getting things done.

I have so much I need and would like to be doing, but will be trying to focus on digging out the star of beth while it is visible...sigh.

I really need to be getting some seeds started too...double sigh.

Jim, I found my (gas powered) leaf blower is just the thing for cleaning out the (leaf) gutters too. For years I used an electric shop vac blower, but when I got the driveway paved I got a gas one. Luckily it is easy to start and has served me well for years now.

Sue