Spring is rushing to arrive

It's getting quite warm for the past week, even warmer than usual. As an old proverb says, however, three cold days may be alternated by four warm days. And in each cycle of this weather, we might get closer to mid spring.

I have planted some 60 potatoes for now. They may meet frost within a month. I would protect their tiny sprouts with unwoven cloths against frost. I should be more careful about the weather forecast. It is a sign that tells I have become a real amateur farmer for now. I have heard old shrunk potatoes with buds could grow and leave some new fresh ones. Such ones have also been planted. I would add some more and send a portion of the harvest to my niece as promised to her the other day.

The green peas planted last fall are starting growing. Well survived through the last winter with almost unprecedentedly cold spell. Some of them in shady places were dead in the winter. These are lucky to have been planted at a sunny corner in the garden. 

A lot of daffodiles are blooming at different places. They are strong and fertile. They often suprise me growing at unexpected places. They are surely a symbol of early spring in our garden, though. Wellcome again.  

An ume with red blossoms are fully out. It is in front of the house my parents used to live. It comes out later than white ones. My parents must have enjoyed them through the window in this season. A big zelkova tree combatting sun ray with this smaller ume has been removed a few years ago and this ume is growing as if triumphed in the opener space.

The magnolia is also blooming. On only a few branches since the others were heavily pruned last year as told before. Looking up the previous posts on this magnolia in this blog, I could not help smiling finding a lot of posts with almost same photos. 

The difference from previous posts is that it is coming out earlier than ever. It used to be a flower in April in this area. Early in April, it used to make me surprised with almost all flowers coming out at the same time. Apparent cold spell in the winter might be only an extreme of the weather in this global warming era. Magnolia must know of the change of global warming.

Another difference is that mother has gone away, who used to tell me happily that this flowers were coming out as repeatedly told in the past. Needless to say.

I must confess that I have failed growing the buds of tomatoes. They sure have sprouted on pots but have not grown any more. The small electric carpet was not good enough to warm them at night, maybe. I should try to grow them in the end of next month on pots or should purchase the small seedling at store then. I would try "sauvage cultivation" for mini tomatoes described in the paper as follows. They say it is quite efficient for large amounts of harvest lasting until the end of fall. The only concern is that the fruits taste "less sweet". But they taste better when cooked, so far as I read in the internet. I may make another failure but may enjoy even that.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318054570_Yield_and_Quality_of_Summer-autumn-harvest_Cherry_Tomato_in_Open_Field_Culture_Using_Sauvage_Cultivation