Yes, there is snow on the ground. Plenty of it. The ground is still frozen. But here in the Northland that is no reason not to start planting now. With an outdoor gardening season that is noticeably shorter than regions to the south, Tom Kasper advises us to start some vegetables indoors and then transplant them once the ground thaws. Onions should be started right away, then peppers, tomatoes, and others shortly.
Now would also be the best time to prune your fruit trees before they begin to bud. Shorten the branches that grow straight up, deferring to branches that grow sideways. This will both provide more light to a broader spread of branches and allow easier access when harvesting the fruit in the fall.
