My garden is still under ice and snow...

I checked my raised beds today. I got an email from a local nursery that instructed that I could start radishes, mesclun, carrots, scallions and spinach by Feb 15th if I use a double hoop system, one inside the other. Well, I checked my beds. Under the top layer of snow is solid ice even in the ground. I think I need a few more days of over 40s temps to do any good for me here in Maine. I'll be picking up my 1 x 2s tomorrow to try my experiment with making a plastic tent, as opposed to hoops, which I don't have and can't make. I can make a tent. I plan to put a shorter tent inside the coldframe tent covered with heavy row cover and start my cool-weather crops under that. Its an experiment to see if I can get earlier crops. I hope it works. I'll be posting pictures and results as it happens.

Since I couldn't get my beds ready, I stopped at the library and picked up a book on growing herbs in pots. I'm especially interested in growing perennial herbs so I can bring them inside for the winter and keep having herbs year round. Another experiment for me. I picked up some potting soil while I was out today. I have pots that are at least 10" across so I'll be starting some garlic chives tomorrow and a pot of mesclun as well.

And to appease my disappointment at not being able to start my garden endeavors, I'm making a batch of buckeyes/peanut butter balls. Here they are ready for the fridge to chill them before dipping in chocolate. I think I have enuf to share with the family as well unless I get ultra greedy, which I hope never happens.

Stay tuned weekly to see what's happening in my organic garden of raised beds, my rose garden, and the new organic community garden we are starting in our town this spring. That's got me very excited and I'll be taking pictures of that as well. Til we meet again, enjoy those seed catalogs and dream, dream, dream.