Marchmay

Yes, this weather IS perfect for…some green veggies (thank you!); and it is perfect for transplanting some 360-plus plugs of Scotch moss amidst my new walkway stepping stones.  And, the rain IS good for cleaning the air of various pollens which went out of control during the 3 days of sunny, warm weather we enjoyed mid-month.  The winds that accompanied the clear weather required a hose hook-up to water the veggies in the CG!  In that marvellous weekend we experienced some real May, after having survived Februmay.

Cool weather crops enjoying the Marchmay weather!

Alas, we’re now in Marchmay, along with a gamut of weather tricks.  The petunias look smaller than when I planted them 3 weeks ago, and the tiny zinnias are struggling.  The lobelia looks happy at least.  Time to thwart slugs again; they’re chomping on an artichoke seedling.

Gnome biding his time, hoping for warmer days.

The strawberry plants are blooming very well now, which means….late berries, maybe a good thing.

Strawberry blossoms coming on strong; we need some strong sun, too!

Good news!  Thinnings of lettuces, spinach, beets, and kale have contributed several pounds towards our new harvest tally, to be posted in early June.  With several CG members on holiday until Memorial Day weekend, I persuaded some neighbors and friends to share the bounty.  We’ve postponed planting squash, melon, and cucumber seeds until Memorial Day, although the soil is nicely warm, independent of the weather events.

Aspen needs to sample everything...lettuce, kale...not fussy at all.

While thinning chard and spinach, I was briefly perplexed about the spotty blemishes that seemed to have appeared just in the last few days, separate from the chronic leaf-miner damage.  I’d already discovered a layer of dried raindrops laden with pollen on the red lettuce, but this was different.  Oh…right! Try hail damage; at least the leaves weren’t punctured!

Update on ladybugs: they’re all hiding; maybe boycotting for more sun.