March is now behind us, the month we gave old man winter the boot and welcomed spring with open arms- at least according to the calendar. It was apparent he was not anxious to go, as the last night before the first official day of spring, we hit a low of 29°. This is the month when gardeners dream of garden beds overflowing with beautiful bug and disease-free plants loaded with picture-perfect produce. Our biggest growing season is just around the corner. Our hopes are high as they are every spring. This is the month before reality sets in.
A few pounds of asparagus and spinach trickled in this month from the three or four brave souls who decided to plant a winter garden. The onion plants are getting bigger but probably won’t start to bulb until sometime in May. The peach trees started blooming early in the month, followed by the fig trees a few weeks later. A few strawberries started to show a hint of red. In our monarch beds, yarrow and pincushion flowers are ready to bloom, and milkweed is just starting to come up. Soon we will be looking for monarch butterflies as they make their way north, and we hope they decide to stop in the beds we’ve prepared especially for them. The perennials in the hummingbird garden are coming back to life and are being tidied up a bit. The lizards should soon appear in the well-prepared reptile area seeking tasty bugs. Cross vine over our arbor, a hummingbird favorite, is also beginning to bloom. Our red wiggler composting bin returned after being out of commission for a few years. Several people offered the needed supplies, and a young artist in our community painted the lid. The red wrigglers are working hard to produce the worm castings we will use in our garden beds.
Throughout the month, preparations have been ongoing for a much-needed replacement of several garden beds. Those beds served us well over the last 13 years, but time combined with constant exposure to moisture have taken their toll. Supplies were purchased, prep work was done on the lumber and metal supports Eleven beds were dismantled, and some of the soil was removed to make way for the new, sturdy, well-supported beds that will replace them.
On March 29th, we were again honored to be part of HPU’s second annual Impact Day, where students, faculty, and staff go out into the community to lend a helping hand to various organizations. So much was accomplished in those. three hours. Garden beds were assembled and put into place, various areas around the garden were painted, the orchard was weeded, our newly completed mural was sealed, and so much more.
Like Santa, we have been making our list and checking it twice. Has the soil been amended? Check. Have the seeds been ordered, and have seedlings started as needed? Check. Those are just a couple of items off a very long list. Now we watch the weather for what we hope will be the best time to plant. Too early could be disastrous, but we want to get ahead of the sweltering weather. So, for now, we’re raring to go and dreaming.