Spring Begins Thursday

This coming week is the vernal equinox AKA Spring! (which falls on Thursday March 20th). It is a time to celebrate new beginnings, in this case our plots of herbs, veggies and flowers at BCG. In my yard I see evidence of Spring–daffodils, the nubs of rhubarb stalks and leaves, and the magnolia next door is heavily budded. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, because Good Friday is about a month off, and Mother’s day is May 11th. Those two days are garden signposts. Potatoes are safe to tuck in underground on Good Friday, but tender tomatoes, peppers and basil prefer the more settled warmth of May, and traditionally many people like to celebrate Mom by planting the garden. I spend my late winter days by tucking seeds into plug trays on a heat mat in the basement, where LED lights, and a fan, help to make them strong and ready for the great outdoors. There’s still plenty of time to order unusual seed varieties from many seed houses, like Johnny’s Select Seed, Seed Saver’s Exchange and Kitchen Garden Seeds. Seed catalogs and those online too, have loads of good cultural information (which refers to specific needs of each seed/plant) Locally, I like Earl May, Mulhalls, and Indian Creek Nursery. Paradigm Gardens has good soil mixes, and fertility amendments. I use liquid fish emulsion with kelp for initial transplanting, then a slow release granular called Chick Poo (Menards) when planting larger starts into the ground. It feeds the plants all season.

If you’ve got the itch to start planting next month, there are many cold tolerant plants which can be directly sown: radish, salad turnip, greens like arugula and lettuce, broccoli, cabbage and pansies, to name a few. Just be aware of our night temps, because a frost will nip baby plants, and you may have to re-sow. A quilted throw will protect from cold nights.