Monday, April 18, 2011

Gardening is not instant gratification

There is such a thing as starting too soon. Not that I did, I'm just sayin'...

Seeds in cold ground can take a long time to germinate. I know, 'cause I've been watching my pea row everyday for 2 weeks since I planted them April 3rd. Could'a soaked them ahead of time, should'a innoculated them... but no, I wanted them in the ground.

They went in the same day as the Spinach, Komatsuna, China Choy, and Bok Choy. And then it proceeded to rain everyday for two weeks, and stay in the 40s and 50s. Lettuce, chard, and onions went in a week later (April 10).

But even with the maples, forsythia, daffodils and hyacinths blooming, lilac and raspberry leaves budding, rhubarb exploding from its nubs, these seeds are really making me search for green in a sea of raked soil.

In a great show of optimism I put in my second planting of these winter greens this evening, and searched, and searched for signs that something might be coming up. And once I was able to ignore the blown off lime green norway maple flowers littering the bed, I think I saw a couple cotyledons. The hairy fringe of the tips of a pea vine might have made it to the surface. No promises though, it might have been a halucination.

Here's the garden today, April 17th.


The 2-sided fence will support vining plants this year, but we don't plan to go the rest of the way around or add the wire bunny protection until next year.

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