Snow, I thought it was spring.

The snow has shown its ugly face again in our yard. After having no snow since February it is not a welcome sight. It came over night and dropped about 1-2cm so at least there was not a lot of accumulation.

I was a little concerned with the coldframe crops but they seem to be doing fine. On Sunday the frame went above 30c(86f) so I figured it would have enough residual heat to hold it over night. It did as you can see in the photo below. The frame was holding at 5c(41f) well the outside temperature with windchill factored in was -4c(25f). For the next few days we are having really low day time temps followed by even colder night time temps. I think I will start carting all the veggies in the frame inside at night just to be safe.

The lettuce that I seeded in the oak barrel has germinated well. There is not much I can do for them in the cold as the barrel is way to heavy to bring in from the elements. They will just have to suffice on their own.

I have received another seed order as well as picked up a few seed packets at the store. Most of them have been started and some have germinated already.

Here we have herbs and sugar snap peas. I am growing greek oregano,
german winter thyme, hamburg parsley that also produces an edible root
that tastes like celeriac & a basil that grows small leaves on globe shaped
plants. I am also going to grow sugar snap peas in a pot with pea brush.
This pea produces a succulent pod and is eaten pod and all well young.

Here were have parsnips, detroit beets, parmex carrots & leeks
to be grown as fall crops. As well as another packet of mesclun
mix lettuce that looked particularly nice.

These are dutch sets. I am trying sets & seeded onions
this year to see what does best.

Finally I have order a few ornamentals to be grown in the perennial
borders & summer planters. The first packet is dwarf zinnias, then
drumstick primula destined to be mass planted in the woodland border
and cardoon that will be grown in planters. The cardoon is a relative
of the artichoke and apparently is edible,I will have to look into
how it is prepared.

Here is a photo I took well building the new raised beds. This photo was taken Saturday which was a miserably cold day with winds gusts up to 80km/h. By Sunday evening I almost completed the two top raised beds and will finish them off this week if the weather ever warms up again. I will also build the "build as you grow potato bin" this week.