IS IT TIME TO START PLANTING YET?

OK, took my own advise this past week and worked on my shed. Cleaned it out and even did the dreaded, scrape, prime, and re-paint "thing". Glad that's over...................!!

Is it time to start planting yet? Well, in beautiful southeastern Wisconsin, the answer is - YES. The general rule of green-thumbs is:

First week in April is Clean-up, Second week is Repair & Fertilize, Third week is start tomatoes from seed indoors............ and WE'RE OFF TO THE RACES!!.

You can also sow seeds outdoors for the following crops: asparagus, beets, carrots, chard, kohlrabi, leaf lettuce, mustard, onion sets, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radish, spinach, and turnip. Start new plantings of grapes, strawberries, raspberries, asparagus, and rhubarb as soon as the ground can be worked.

Since the weather can be very unpredictable here in Wisconsin, something I like to do with my Apricot Trees, is some pollinating by hand. The Apricot Trees bloom early, but the bees are still sleeping. So after years of NO FRUIT and much frustration, I decided to take pollination into my own hands. With the help of my Kabuki make-up brush, some duck tape, and my longest knitting needle, I was able to do the work of MANY bees.

And yes, it worked like a charm. Last year yielded a bumper crop. And I'm anticipating a good yield this year as well!

Catch ya next week. ;o)

Kim