Rain and Clouds

Did I mention that April has been cloudy and rainy? Not that we've had heavy rainfalls, just regular rains and many cloudy days. I suppose it is not as bad as the Pacific Northwest where I hear that people have moss growing in their cars.

I can count the number of nice, warm spring days in April on one hand. Our monthly electric bill tells us the average temperature for the month and for the same month a year ago. The average temperature in April 2010 was 50 degrees. This April the average temperature was 44 degrees. We're burning through more oil to heat the house. These are the times we wish we had a wood stove, especially since we've been thinning our woods to allow the bigger oaks and maples more room to grow. Instead, the felled trees are going to our neighbor for their wood stove.

In a previous post I mentioned planting arugula, which sprouted in 12 days. Each day I check its progress. It's like watching a pot boil as it refuses to grow. The arugula is just waiting for the sun to come out. I planted cilantro at the same time and it finally sprouted on Sunday, taking three weeks to germinate. The spinach was a little quicker to germinate and now all three plantings -- the arugula, cilantro, and spinach - are at the same stage, about a thumbnail high.

 Thumbnail high arugula (foreground), spinach (in back), cilantro (to the left)

The good news, the sugar snap peas planted on April 16th just sprouted.The bad news is that rain continues this week, making it difficult to plant more crops. Seed potatoes, carrots, and more greens await a dry day.