First Plantings, Abundant Eggs, & BBQ to Die For

Yes, the asparagus has broken ground. Winter is over. These last few weeks have given me that feeling of joy that only someone who has just gotten through a long Wisconsin winter can feel. It's really impossible to be in a bad mood when I can go outside in a t-shirt and not get cold!


This other first harbinger of spring, rhubarb, is almost ready to pick. I still have some strawberries frozen from last year - I'll have to make pie!

Planting has begun in earnest. This weekend my Mom and I spent a good chunk of time planting things - most notably lots of potatoes.


These are seed potatoes - 3lb of Red Norland and All Blue. I cut the up on Saturday night into chucks with at least an eye each.....



I let them sit out overnight to dry, and we planted on Sunday.


Six neat rows of potatoes - 3 red and 3 blue. We'll mound them up higher as they go. This is the plot I grew corn and beans in last year......this year potatoes and possibly a large late spinach crop. I have to apologize for the lack of planting pictures - I forgot the camera and I had to come back to take pictures after the fact.


In the newly dug bed behind the potatoes we planted a long row of peas (on the left side) and carrots (on the right.) The soil here is sandy and full of little rocks - good for root crops I think. We'll put up a trellis for the peas next weekend.


I also planted these two misshapen little beds thickly with a mix of mesculun salad mix, arugula, red Russian kale, and spinach. I'll cut these all as babies for salad - hopefully soon!


There's a possibility that these three beds in front of potato patch (on East Main) are up for grabs. The man who has planted them the past few years is moving..... this would just about double the space and would be awesome, but the plan is to ask around and see if any other neighbors want to use them. You can't be too greedy with prime garden space in the city..... as much as I might like to be.


My brother and sister in law's garden is slowly being planted. My brother already put in some peas (by the fence in the foreground), and also some lettuce, spinach, and arugula.


Sunday we planted a few rows of beets, Swiss chard, and spinach in this bed. If all goes well in just a month or so we'll have more greens than we know what to do with.


Many of the weeds we pulled as we prepped our beds went to these deserving ladies. You can see them gobbling up a few dandelion greens I pulled for them today. They are finally all through their winter molt - I got 6 eggs today, leaving no doubt that they are all laying again!


There were three when I cleaned the coop this morning, and then late this afternoon I found these beauties. In just a few weeks I've gone from not enough eggs to way more eggs than I know what to do with!

I won't be getting the big dark wheaten marans eggs too much longer. With the move coming up, the ladies will be moving to a new. smaller coop, and I just don't trust the wheaten to not bully them too much. I found a good home for her with a lady in Middleton..... she (and her eggs) will be missed.

Oh, and one more random thing before I go......

I will have more rib posts this summer I'm sure..... today was the test run. These Willow Creek Farms St. Lois style ribs are readily available at the Co-op. I dry rubbed them and marinated for about 24 hours, and then today we slow roasted them on the grill and slathered them with home made apple butter BBQ sauce.....

I'm not a big rib person, but these ribs were frickin' delicious! This type of BBQ will definitely happen again - I'll be sure to take many pics when it does.
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