Springtime!

Greens

You may recall that a while back I put some lettuce and brassica starts in the ground under cover.  This week the weather has been pretty good, so I decided to take the cover off the row:

In there is a mix of lettuces with chard and kale as well.  Some of the chard took pretty heavy bug damage, but it looks like everything is still growing.  Strangely, the plants get larger the further along the row you get.  I wonder if there is a fertility gradient in the soil, or if its the moisture?  I'm not sure, but here is the last lettuce in line, with my hand for perspective.  It's almost salad time:

First Asparagus

I can't seem to remember what variety of asparagus I planted last season.  Apparently something purple because here it is, the first asparagus stalk of the season!  Yesterday it was 60 and sunny, and the long range forecasts are for warm and sun.  Maybe this stalk will grow and harden off before the slugs get it?

Seed Timing

Technically it's spring now, but I'll admit that its more "early spring" than "spring spring."  But on the rare sunny day that gets mixed in, a farmer gets tempted to plant.  I was recently reading the instructions on my pea packages and apparently starting the seedlings indoors is discouraged, and they should be planted outside "as soon as the soil can be worked."  With that advice under consideration and then ignored, I usual go ahead and start plants indoors, aiming for ~Presidents Day as ideal seeding time for peas.

Here's a comparison that backs up my thinking.  Check out these pictures taken today, the first one is of snow peas, planted outdoors on 2/24.  They're planted up against a nice warm piece of southern facing foundation.  Look how big they are (or aren't):

Ok, maybe you had to squint but they're there, right in the middle.  Now for comparison, here are some peas that I started on 3/15, indoors, then transplanted out the other day.  Time will tell which grow faster or produce more, but for plants that are about 4 weeks younger, these guys look pretty good:

In my experience-based opinion, it makes more sense to start peas indoors then transplant them out after they have 3+ leaf pairs.  This is because spring growing conditions are challenged by the reemergence of the local slug population.  Slugs like to eat my peas right at the surface as they first break ground, but they're less inclined to climb up to the higher leaves.  Hopefully these larger plants will have at least a fighting chance.

St. Patrick's Day

I'm not sure when potatoes are supposed to be planted.  But I do know when St. Patrick's Day is every year, so that's when I plant them.

A few days prior I dug out a ditch of a bed for them, and then backfilled with compost, fertilizer, and straw.

After her nap, I recruited my helpful assistant and the potatoes went right in.  We planted about 2# of spuds, so I'll be curious to see what our end-of-season yield is on this operation.

Springtime!

Gret and Liz enjoy a pow day

Sushi Chef

Big M making sushi.  With tortillas, egg, honey, raisins, banana.  Yum!

Snow Peas

Well if snow is falling, I might as well plant snow peas.  After all, I've had a bunch started in the grow room and it is March already.  (Usually I like to Plant Peas on Presidents day)  Hopefully they can get established now, while the slugs are frozen?

Snow

Cold on the heels of my post about using row covers to keep the plants warm and dry come this weather event, the Blizzard of 2012.  Were people afraid to travel? Yes.  Were schools closed? Unnecessary, but yes.  Did my plants survive?  I guess I'll know in a few days....