By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

The exceptionally wet winter has brought plants to their full potential this spring.

Darlene Carlson, a gardener in rural Lincolnville, said all of the trees in her fruit orchard escaped frost damage and have bloomed profusely. Some fruit has already set. Perennials also came up and are blossoming.

“One plant that hadn’t done well for years is beautiful this year,” she said.

Greens such as lettuce, kale, and arugula, planted in tubs, are dark green and plentiful, she said.

She said she starts garden plants under grow lights in her house.

Carlson has been selling produce at local farmers’ markets for many years but said she is scaling back this year because of health problems. Her produce will go to family, but Carlson said she plans to sell bouquets of her homegrown flowers along with any vegetables the family can’t use.

On Saturday, with the help of relatives, Carlson set out 150 plants into rows covered in weed cloth. The cloth allows water in to reach the plants but keeps the weeds down. An underground system makes watering simple.

“If I never walk on the row, the soil stays loose underneath,” she said.

She planted several varieties of hot peppers, sweet peppers, okra, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, cantaloupe, watermelons, pumpkin, and squash.

“I’m looking forward to a good year,” she said.