The end of winter

Spring arrives at 10h37 this morning here in France. You wouldn't know it by stepping outside. This morning we're at 1ºC (about 34ºF). Yes, many trees are in flower, some shrubs are making small leaves, and the daffodils and muscari (grape hyacinth) are blooming. But it's chilly.

Our hamlet above the Cher at the end of winter.

But now the days will be longer than the nights. And it will get warmer. It's time to start thinking about planting seeds in the greenhouse for tomatoes and squash. I have a new plan this year. I ordered a 50m soaker hose kit for the vegetable garden. It's supposed to arrive today, but I won't need it for a while. With a soaker hose, I shouldn't need to water the garden manually every day and worry about under-watering when it's hot. In the garden's early years, I watered with a sprinkler. However, constantly wetting the leaves on the plants is an invitation for mildiou (fungus), not to mention that a sprinkler waters the weeds as well as the vegetables.

Another nouveauté is that I got rid of a lot of old seeds that have been accumulating for years. I'm starting mostly fresh this year with new tomato, green bean, and squash seeds. I'll be adding blood meal to the soil to boost the nitrogen levels, and will add calcium (garden lime) to help prevent the dreaded tomato blossom-end rot.