I get what you are saying , as my ancestry involves Russia and some of what we had growing up was definitely from there , some more Ukrainian maybe but a lot of dishs were from recipes brought over many generations ago
Your summers sound a lot like mine ....last year i already was planting and so far this year it's wet and cool ? But i follow what my mother always said ...........plant after a new moon and thus i do .Lot's of horses here and occasionally some one will advertise free manure but over all i just...
I seldom use manure but if i can i prefer horse or sheep manure just because i find they do a better job of digesting the seeds which if i use cow manure i always had a weed problem .I have changed my garden location a few times simply due to soil conditions , now i have a very sandy location...
Wow ! Last year i was planting in about a week , This year it's so wet and hardly any sun so not sure when i will be planting ........but your gardening looks amazing