Preparing for Spring

It seems weather all over the country is pretty bizarre.  Here in Idaho we are no exception. Spring is trying to show up but if you are a local resident, it is well known that you do not plant outside before the snow is off Bogus Basin, our little ski hill. Then, and only then is it safe from frost.  When I worked in the garden center, many customers would come back to buy new plant starts because they jumped the gun and planted too early in the season only to let Jack Frost claim the lives of the tiny seedlings.  I have to be patient and not allow this to happen to me.

It was supposed to rain all weekend but Saturday turned out to be really pleasant.  We managed to get some yard work done only to be surprised with a dusting of snow this morning.  I have been planning my garden for nearly a year now.  It was a year ago March 11th that we became homeowners and chicken owners.  I had decided long ago that when I owned my own home I would have chickens and a garden.  It's hard to believe we started out with 5 fuzzy chicks and now have 7 mature laying hens.  They have been doing a great job and we get anywhere between 4-7 eggs each day.

With our busy schedules I wanted to get a jump start on the raised beds we are planning.  I want to do it as organically as possible so I don't want to use chemicals on the ground where they will be going.  I am going to have 2 - 5x10 ft raised beds and 2 - 4x4 potato planters along our back fence, next to the chicken coop.  My goal is to have them installed and filled by the end of April so I can get them planted in May.  So this week, Brent and I laid down some black plastic and weighted them down in order to begin killing the grass where the beds will go.

Spring Rhubarb

Last fall we covered the Rhubarb plants with straw to protect them from the cold weather.  I had never grown a perennial plant like that so I wasn't sure if it would grow back this year.  We decided to peek at them and see how they were doing under their protective covering and lo and behold!! We have baby plants growing!! This year we will actually be able to harvest from it so we can have fresh rhubarb crisp!

I am so anxious and excited to have a real garden this year.  I only hope it will be as successful as my chickens are.  Now I have to decide what to plant.....