Hot Tamales, Tulips, and Fresh Wood

Early bloomers

     Technically it's Spring.  Someone please tell that to Mother Nature.  NOAA says it's after the frost dates (don't know your's? check it here) but my little piggies are freezing since I already busted out the flip-flops.  I got one day in the sun before the cold temperatures came back.  But that doesn't mean that things aren't going as planned in the gardens.  There's a bustle of activity in the beds and with the winter cover mainly removed, the plants are getting a fresh start at life.  Already the purple tulips are getting ready to bloom and the grape hyacinth is slowly making it's progress as well.

Not only that but the wood mulch gets a new start at life as well.  If you don't have beds and instead use containers for your gardens, still invest in mulch as it helps with moisture retention, enhances nutrient exchange, and a host of other good stuff!  Don't believe me? Check out this nifty article and this one too!

Laying down new mulch

If you notice in the picture to the left that the bed never had an original layer of mulch. Instead, this bed was prepared last year (2012) and had half a layer of newspaper as a means to control weeds. While it worked, the rest of the bed was left open to invasion. So case in point, put down mulch.  Or be left weeding excessively - something I'll be doing for the next few weeks.

While it's cold outside it's spicy up in this place.  Cinco de Mayo is around the corner and for most that means tacos, burritos, and ice cold Coronas.  In this house, not so much.  During the winter we love Aztec styled hot cocoa.  So why not make a chocolate cake out of it? The cake pan is not five minutes in the oven when the aroma of cayenne pepper wafts throughout the house, bringing with it that oh-so-familiar tingle to the sensory system of - SPICY!  The recipe comes from Real Simple but feel free to experiment - I mean recipes are just guidelines...Instead of water, I used 1c of coffee and a full 1/2ts of cayenne.  Don't be afraid to get fresh with the spices!

Final Thoughts:

If you're in a region like mine where this is the last week of the frost think about your cold crop (i.e. cucumbers, cabbage, cauliflower, etc).  Don't forget to sow sweet corn, lettuce, carrots, and start setting out transplants before the final transition to outdoor living!  But keep an eye on the weather because you never know if a freak storm will blow your way!  And finally, my baby Wicket ^_^

Wicket's impression of a dead baby seal, pretty good, eh?