It started out so nice but the day has deteriorated into a more typical cold, wet April day. Still, I got out to the garden and pulled up a huge bowl of parsnips and carrots and found a couple of stray shallots I must have missed last fall. Then I got to the greenhouse and harvested a large bag of greens. All of this growing stuff got me motivated so I got busy planting. I started my early carrots in toilet paper tubes in a deep bin. As soon as we know frost is really past, I will put the tubes in the ground and we will be eating long, straight carrots in June. I will put in the storage carrots later. With some succession planting, I should have carrots all year with no problem. My goal is from the garden from early April until December with some protection and storage in the cellar for the four months the garden is under snow. I am wondering if I could do a row in the greenhouse too. The ground never freezes in there. Wouldn’t it be great to have a year round crop of something as useful as carrots?

I had to replant a lot of the tomatoes I had started because my stupid $250.00 gonad-less cat ate the darn things. I got 2 great books yesterday. Don’t Throw It, Grow It! is about growing house plants from kitchen scraps. Of course, my main interest is on the plants you can grow and eat. There were a lot of them. I just pine for an attached greenhouse. The other book is Growing Chinese Vegetables. It is an old book that Storey has re-released. I like Chinese veggies a lot and they grow well in my climate so this is a winner for me.

We are heading across the street for dinner with a neighbor later and then next door to the Community House for a concert. The musicians are local and really good. We never miss a chance to see them perform. Altogether, a satisfying day.