I looked out the dining room window on Sunday afternoon and realized the black cherry tree outside was putting on new leaves.
We are now within the critical time period for establishing a garden here in Lower Alabama.
After seeing the cherry tree, I had to look up the last frost date, as I knew it must be close.
Out in the food forest, the mulberries and pomegranates are waking up after their winter sleep.
This is a difficult time and fraught with danger, as we are often subject to late freezes that can undo the best gardening plans.
If you don’t plant early, the weather gets too hot for your cool-season vegetables, such as cabbages, kohlrabi, radishes, English peas, potatoes, beets, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, spinach, onions and turnips.
Look at this weather!
You’d think we’d be fine planting corn, pumpkins, green beans, okra, melons, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and all the good crops of summer.
And we might be.
But we also might not be. One night below 32 – which is likely before the end of March – and POW! That work is done.
Yet the weather is also getting too hot and humid for many summer crops by June/July. And the bugs! They come in swarms to destroy your hard work as the days warm and lengthen.
This time right now is key for getting in the cool-season plants and preparing to start the warmer plants. In the greenhouse right now we have zinnias and marigolds, tomatoes and eggplants, peppers, cabbage, Jamaican sorrel, tobacco and more, safely getting a head start on the spring garden.
We could have started more cool-season vegetables more than a month ago. But we weren’t ready. Now the time is short!
Outside of the vegetable garden, it’s time to start grafting pears. There are wild Bradford pears all over the place which we’re going to re-graft with good fruiting pears.
It’s also time to propagate bamboo. One of the clumping types on the property is putting up new shoots. If we catch it now we can divide some off to plant elsewhere.
We also have bare-root fruit trees that need planting.
And some dormant trees in pots that should go in the ground before they awaken.
And apple trees that are waking up, which need to be mulched and have the grass cleaned up from around them.
And the Grocery Row Gardens need the weeds of winter pulled before the shoots of ginger, Jerusalem artichokes, cassava, potatoes and other roots start appearing.
Everything happens all at once! It’s an exciting time.
A good start now sets the pace for the rest of the year.
12 comments
It is an exciting time indeed, happy gardening!
You too.
Starting black eyed peas, tomatoes, eggplants, herbs and peppers in my living room. Hoping for an abundant food forest for my littles. The only reason for the peas is… I was told it’s impossible to grow them here in Texas. Between the droughts, freezes, hold my beer Babylon weather.. I’ve been fermenting them for my chickens and quails to add protein to the unethical upmost of feed.. which has helped drastically in egg production. Figured what the heck ill give it a go. Started them 5 days ago and they’re 2 to 3 inches poking out of the saran wrap. Love y’alls content.
You might be able to pull off pigeon peas there – they are really productive and take a lot of heat.
I really like following along. I also watch the Brewton station. I came across a new word for me, yesterday. Phenology. They say spring is early by about 3 weeks following the leaf bud. I have also observed the bud break but just got the bare root trees planted last week. I had also started some cucumber and squash and a few things in the green house. I think I’ll and go ahead and set out half, I’m small scale and raised bed. I checked the soil temp on a web page and it is already 60 degrees in ground. So…. Away we go…. May the odds be ever in your favor.
You too. It’s always a risk, but as I see the cherry waking up… I am tempted to plant out the warm stuff.
I pulled the trigger and put my pepper and tomato plants out this last weekend. Seems like the last frost shot on the coast. Went full boar and finished seeding the back plot. Melons, beans, butterbeans, etc.. I gambled earlier and pulled off a small plot of beans and some squash. It seems to be game time.
It should be full bore, but I kind of like full boar. LOL.
FULL BOAR is awesome.
I am tempted to start planting the summer stuff.
Weird weather this year! I just got my second harvest of muscadines (for readers – Im in South Florida and they are Dixie, golden/blush type). Typical harvest is in August/September. While they always pushed late season flowers, they all just end up dropping as the vine entered its deciduous state. Except this year the vine didn’t go dormant. We even got a few really cold nights, but it just pushed on through growing new leaves and fruit of the same quality as the main crop. Pretty awesome to be processing grapes this time of year!
Now maybe this is normal for muscadines in the tropics as they mature (this is about a 7 year old vine)? Just new to me. Now I have to figure out a pruning strategy.
I have 10 tubs left to fill, in the morning, and then my entire brand new garden will be ready to plant. I tell ya, it got hot fast here in central Fl. I have been busting hind end for over 2 weeks, everyday, whether I felt like it or not, and here we are. I’m so grateful to have pushed myself. PRAYING a lot!! Lord, help me get this done, and He has.
Great work, Karen!!!