After my very eventful December, it has taken some time for the pattern of my days to seem familiar again. I realized this afternoon, though, while hoeing out a few weeds and spreading more mulch in the onion/shallot/garlic bed, that everything feels just about normal. Parts of the garden even LOOK normal, in spite of the drop to 5 degrees Fahrenheit a week or so back.
The onions, garlic, and shallots mostly are vibrantly green, firm and growing. Nearly every other crop above ground has gone to mush - even the chickweed that I feed to my bunnies! Underground crops, the carrots and winter radishes, seem to have survived the unusual cold pretty well. Only some individual plants that poked up out of the ground were affected.
At the little farm where we volunteer, the winter greens all look very damaged, except for the spinach. That bit of information is probably worth remembering, for future winter gardens.
Tomorrow I'll be working more in the yard. My compost pile is stacked pretty high with nearly-finished compost that I plan to move onto one of my garden beds, rather than risk letting the nutrients wash out across the back yard. I'd rather have them soaking into my garden! I hope to spend some time planning what to grow where, too.
My last, most favorite seed catalog finally arrived, which means I can place a seed order for my garden whenever I've completed the plan. I'll also be ordering seeds for a Seed Starting class that I'll be giving in February. Those seeds will all be UGA-recommended varieties, some of which are heirloom. I'm planning to order from a source that sells untreated seeds, so that organic gardeners won't have to worry about accidentally introducing unknown fungicides or systemic pesticides into their gardens.
The first class I am planning for this year, though, is a Planning for Seed Saving class. It's scheduled for the 28th at the Extension office, and I'll have some seeds to share at that class, too, in honor of National Seed Swap Day, which falls each year on the last Saturday in January (this year it's on the 25th).
I always enjoy meeting more gardeners, so I am really looking forward to both of these classes!
You have a great way of writing. I think you should put these blog entries into book form. I do have a question. What timeframe do you consider to be the earliest planting moment for cool crops like snow peas, lettuce etc. ? I live in the same general area that you do and would like to get started as early as I can.
ReplyDeleteHi Phyllis,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the lovely compliment! I might someday pull together a garden book, but I'm not there yet.
For peas, I usually plant outside in late February. The cue for me is when the trout lilies are up and blooming in my yard. That means the soil is warm enough (though still pretty cold) that the seeds will germinate rather than rot in the cold, wet ground.
I plant direct-seeded cool-weather crops like lettuce in mid-to-late-March. The seeds are slow to start, and they can wash away in a hard rain if they aren't protected, so they'll need to be watched.
Hope that helps. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and leave a note!
-Amy
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteWhere do you have the class? Is it on Jan 28th? Can you give me more details?
Thanks,
Supriya
Hi Supriya,
ReplyDeleteThe Seed Saving Class is on Jan. 28, 6:30 p.m., at the Extension office (2nd floor classroom) in Marietta -- 678 South Cobb Drive.
Maybe I will see you there?
-Amy