Sprouts

The carrots, spinach and broccoli seeds have all sprouted. I saw all these tiny green plants in the vicinities of where the seeds were planted, so all must be good so far. Now Steve just have to cordon off the beds to keep the boys and the dogs from trampling on the new seedlings.

Strawberries

Two days ago I noticed some new greenery popping out of the strawberries from beneath their winter straw covering. So I figured it was time to yank off all the straw and see what was beneath. The plants look great. A far cry from a year ago when there were so many weeds that you couldn't even see the strawberry plants. I had to spend two evenings weeding the whole bed and praying that I had a few plants left. Two years ago when Wes was a newborn and Liam wasn't even two yet, we had our hands so busy taking care of itty bitties that the garden and strawberries were a distant thought. So it was exciting last year to get rid of the weeds and let the strawberries re-propagate the bed. We were actually very surprised at how well the bed recovered. And, this is first time we've covered the strawberries for winter, so I wasn't certain what to expect. Now we just have to wait and see what kind of harvest we get this year. We know it won't be enough to satisfy the love our boys have for strawberries, and I know I'll be buying some or maybe a lot from Raab's, but it's fun to have some in our own yard.

Planted seed

Tonight, after dinner, I managed to escape from the family for a few minutes and get my cold crop seeds planted. The weather was absolutely miserable for planting, and it really wasn't an enjoyable experience. It felt like a chore I had to do. There was a nasty, cold wind blowing with drops of rain falling on me. My hands were absolutely frozen after the 15 mintes I spent getting the seeds in. The weather station said it was 47 degrees out, but my gosh it felt so much colder than that.

Waylaid

My plans were to plant my spring cold crop veggies this evening after dinner. According to the local weather, we shouldn't be having any more nights below freezing this week, so I thought it was a good time. However, my little guy Wes spiked a fever this afternoon and I wound up holding him the entire evening instead. I doubt I'll be able to plant until Wes is well enough to go outside later this week.

Digging in the Dirt

With my boys Liam and Wes at my side, I suddenly decided to break ground in the garden today. This is the earliest digging in the dirt I've ever done since the creation of our garden in 2003. I didn't know if the ground was frozen still, but I thought I'd see if my pitchfork could get through, and if I could turn the soil. I was ecstatic that the ground was not frozen at all, and I could easily break through and turn the soil. The exhilaration was intense. I've been cooped up indoors all winter and haven't had any physical exertion in months. It felt so good to be outside using muscles that have been dormant for ages.

In a few short minutes I had overturned the entire bed under our south facing bedroom window. I even found some slumbering earthworms that were slightly annoyed that I was disturbing their sleep. By this point, the boys thought digging in the dirt was great fun, too. I had told them to get their shovels from the sandbox so they could help me. They loved shoveling the dirt and putting it in their outdoor trucks (or lawn mowers as Liam says). Wes even tried to use the pitchfork when I wasn't looking. The digging went so well that I also turned about 1/3 of the westward facing bed. With the boys' help, we then added a light coat of organic vegetable soil to both of the beds.

I am now ready to plant my spring cold crop of carrots, broccoli and spinach. I have Baby's Leaf Hybrid Spinach, Bonanza Hybrid Broccoli, and Sweet Treat Hybrid Carrots. I bought the seeds from Burpee last summer to try and do a fall cold crop, but I never had any space in the garden because my summer plants just kept going and going. My goal for this year was to plant these seeds on or around April 1st so that I would be able to have a second planting of something else for later in the summer or fall. I have never grown any of these vegetables before, and I don't know anyone who has ever tried these. My mom says that back in the day, her and dad tried to plant carrots, but the ground was so rocky that they got corkscrews instead of carrots. I don't know if the carrots and broccoli will be done early enough to yank them for other vegetables. The spinach, though, should be done within 30-45 days. By my simple math, the spinach will be over by the end of May at the very latest, which leaves plenty of time for a second planting of something else in that space.