An Act of Faith

Another March weekend began without rain! This was a colder weekend than last, but Saturday was very sunny and dry, and I did have more pea seeds to plant, so I braved the cool temperatures and spent the afternoon cleaning out 2 more boxes. Again, I had help. Bill came out and re-strung the string on the second pea pole, and Shelby came out and laid wherever I was trying to dig. While I strive to aerate the soil, he works at compacting it. He' s not quite the gardener that Jackson was, but he does try! We managed to get 2 more beds cleaned out and re-enforced with leaf mold compost and manure compost. I finished planting the remaining spinach in the first box, which I hope will give me spinach from the end of April until the end of May. I also planted the second half of the Sugar Snap peas in the second box. Around the second planting of peas, I planted 2 varieties of Mesclun - Sweet Salad Mix and Early mix. I should be able to start harvesting some salad greens by the end of April. Finally, because I was able to clear the third box on Saturday, I planted the Sugar Bon Snap peas on Sunday. These are bush peas, growing only to about 18-24 inches so I planted them thickly so they would support themselves as they grow. As I was cleaning up and preparing to come inside this morning, it occurred to me that this was really an act of faith. I mean, it was SO COLD this morning, and damp - so much rain in the air - this can't possibly be the appropriate time to plant anything. And none of the seeds I planted last week have even peeked their little heads up yet...clearly it is just too cold....and yet, I still planted all my spring seeds. Yep, an act of faith!

I love the early spring. Although most of the landscape still looks brown and dead, and the temperatures can still be so very cold, there are signs that yet another spring is just around the corner. Each year, the Bleeding Hearts come back bigger and bigger. These guys were planted within the first year or 2 that we lived here, and they have been moved all around the yard, but every season, without fail, they show up.

Another of my favorite early spring surprises are the Helebores. This year, I was worried that the heavy winter snows had been too much for them. They usually begin to bloom in February, and this year, when I went to look for them, there was no sign of life. But here we are in March and suddenly, they are back and in full bloom.

An act of faith...maybe it is time to have planted the peas!!

And She Tries Again!!

Saturday was the first day of spring, and what better way to celebrate it than...well, actually, I celebrated it by going into the city for a bourbon tasting. But Sunday is the second day of spring, and what better way to celebrate it than planting 2 rows of spinach and half a package of sugar snap peas.

One of my goals for this year was to get the garden started earlier than usual so that I might actually have 3 seasons of harvests. Years ago, when I first came upon the book, Crockett's Victory Garden, I was inspired by Jim Crockett's description of going out into the garden on a cold, damp March day and planting peas. Most years, I plant Sugar Snap peas, rather than the English peas he planted, but I always wanted to find myself doing it in March. And it always seemed to be at least April before I managed to do it. One reason for this is my inability to 'put the garden to bed for the winter'. By the end of every growing season, the garden is full of wild, out-of-control tomato plants, and leggy squash plants and weeds. It's not that I don't know what to do. I am aware that sometime in September or early October, I should go out there, pull off all tomatoes even though they are green, and pull up the plants. And I LIKE green tomatoes, so it should not be a problem. But it always seems that if I just leave them a little longer, I will have just a few more tasty red tomatoes. That never happens.

This year was no different, I never put the garden to bed for the winter. What was different, though, is that this year, on the second day of spring, I went outside and pulled up all the dead plants and weeds in just one growing box. And I had help. Bill came out and pulled and dug, and Shelby came out and dug and rolled. In about 2 hours, we had cleaned out one box, and cut down all the nasty, thorny bushes that were trying to grow, and that, by late April and early May, would begin to shade the garden and become unruly. Then we drove down to Home Depot and bought 4 bags of compost to enrich and replace some of the soil. And, because of the miracle of Daylight's Savings, it was still light so I planted half a bag of Sugar Snap Peas that may be ready to pick by the last couple of days of May. Not only will I have snap peas sooner that usual, but this means I will be able to harvest them, pull up the spent bean plants, and actually put in tomato seedlings or maybe the cute little Ronde de Nice heirloom zucchini squashes. It also means I have time to put in another planting of peas next weekend so that the harvest is staggered. Of course, if my sister gets wind of this, I won't need a staggered harvest.

I also planted 2 rows of spinach. The spinach benefits from an early planting. Often, because I plant it later in the spring, I am only able to harvest for a short time and then the weather gets too hot and it bolts. These 2 rows should be ready to harvest for baby spinach for salads by the end of April, giving me a month and a half for harvest.

The weather for the beginning of the coming week is rainy and cool, perfect for the newly planted seeds. Hopefully, there will be some dry days in the middle of the week so I can prep another box. But for now, I am happy, I finally got the season started in March!