Spring? You Bet!

Guinea House Update- The gang of guineas have adapted well to their new home. They like the honeysuckle branch and often play king-0f-the-hill (branch?) on it. Hopefully, they will be producing eggs soon. The incubator awaits. After a week or so to get used to this enclosure, they will be allowed to roam free throughout the day and return here at night as protection from things that like to eat guineas.



We take advantage of the unseasonably warm days to get the early crops in the garden. The first group of onions where planted on March 15th and they are up and doing well. Today we've added 3 more rows of White Ebenezer onions for scallions, Arugula, Spinach, Radishes, and Potatoes. All being faithfully watched over by St. Francis.

White Ebenezer Onion - White Ebenezer' onion is perfect for picking, with a clear, thick skin and solid flesh. This easy-to-grow cultivar is well suited to northern regions as a summer crop. This long-day onion cultivar requires 14 hours of daylight to develop its bulbs, whereas short-day onions require 11?12 hours of daylight and are better suited to southern regions as a winter crop.

Red Pontiac Potato - Thin, red skin, shallow eyes, and sweet white flesh. All-purpose, does well even in heavy soils. Early to midseason. Keeps well.

Arugula - Tender smooth leaves with robust, peppery flavor. Cook mature leaves with other greens. Ready to harvest in 35 days. Zesty accent in salad. GARDEN HINTS: Grows best in cool weather. Can also be grown as a fall crop. Sow early in spring. Protect from heat with shade cloth. Likes fertile soil, ample water. Best when picked minutes before your meal. Thin plants 8" apart.

French Breakfast Radish - Only 23 days to harvest. Oblong roots grow 1-3/4" long and 3/4" wide. Scarlet skin, shades to white at base. White flesh is crisp and mildly pungent when young. Fast and easy to grow, radishes are best in cool weather and planted in a sunny location.

Cherry Belle Radish - 22 days. All-America Winner. Extra-early, retains fine eating quality all season. Round, smooth, scarlet beauties, 3/4" across with crisp, white flesh. Fast and easy to grow, radishes are best in cool weather. Proven tops for performance, flavor and wide adaptability. Sun.

Noble Giant Spinach - Noble Giant is famous for smooth dark green leaves, excellent flavor. Vigorous plants, very slow to bolt, lets you harvest over a longer period. Cooked or raw (in salads), the dark green leaves of spinach are a super source of vitamins, minerals and cancer-fighting compounds.


Flowers are popping out all over! Every day brings new blooms. Here are a couple of photos of the Dr. Merrill Magnolia and a cluster of King Alfred daffodils.

Spring Carol by Robert Louis Stevenson

WHEN loud by landside streamlets gush,
And clear in the greenwood quires the thrush,
With sun on the meadows
And songs in the shadows
Comes again to me
The gift of the tongues of the lea,
The gift of the tongues of meadows.

Straightway my olden heart returns
And dances with the dancing burns;
It sings with the sparrows;
To the rain and the (grimy) barrows
Sings my heart aloud -
To the silver-bellied cloud,
To the silver rainy arrows.

It bears the song of the skylark down,
And it hears the singing of the town;
And youth on the highways
And lovers in byways
Follows and sees:
And hearkens the song of the leas
And sings the songs of the highways.

So when the earth is alive with gods,
And the lusty ploughman breaks the sod,
And the grass sings in the meadows,
And the flowers smile in the shadows,
Sits my heart at ease,
Hearing the song of the leas,
Singing the songs of the meadows.