Ohio’s mud season is pretty much over, I hope. We’ve had a few dry days, and the temperatures keep rising. Our yard is still squishy in a few places, but in just a few more months, we’ll be complaining about how dry it is.
I got out yesterday to start my spring cleanup. We have a lot of work to do, but it feels good to get out of hibernation. I don’t know about you, but I feel so much better physically and mentally in the spring. I have seasonal affective disorder, so the dark, cold days of winter make me tired and listless. I finally feel a bit more alive.
Speaking of alive, our yard is greening up, the trees are budding, and the first wildflowers of the season are spreading across the lawn and flower beds: purple deadnettle, henbit, wild violets, and Virginia springbeauty (all purple flowers, as it happens).
And our pond is filled with froglets! We have a decent population of American bullfrogs living in the pond, and now they have increased. Though I realize that’s just a bigger excuse for the heron to keep coming by. More juicy, froggy morsels!
I mentioned about two months ago that I tried winter sowing in milk jugs this year. Well, it was a colossal failure. But this is how we learn, right? I know many people have success with this method, but it didn’t work for me.
That said, I recently bought some large clear plastic tubs with lids to serve as a greenhouse for sowing tomatoes, peppers, groundcherries, parsley, and strawberries. It’s been a little over a week since I sowed and no sprouts as of yet.
This photo was taken the day I planted the seeds. I put the container out on the porch the following day in a spot that gets a lot of sun. And I’ve been watering as needed. Fingers crossed this works. I pop the lid off during the day if it’s warm enough and put the lid back on at night. The condensation builds up nicely when the lid is on!
Since we dismantled the raised beds, I’m not going to have much of a proper garden this year. I will be using a lot of containers. I am hoping we can build new raised beds next year. Right now, we have plenty of other projects to keep ourselves busy — one of the biggest being a cleanout of the barn. We’re going to rent a dumpster and get rid of the junk the previous owners left behind.
I’m a bit overwhelmed by all there is to do, but I also felt this way last year. Our neighbors told us that it took them eight years to get their yard the way they wanted it, so I just need to find some patience and keep doing the work that needs to be done to make this property what we want it to be. It’s not going to happen overnight.
Karyn Johnson 