Lettuce, beets, arugula

In the cold frame. Fedco delux lettuce mix, chioggia beets, arugula. Seeds dropped in today.

Spring

Found the first crocus blooms the same day we heard the first spring peepers down at the Boal mansion. Yay!

Compost

Ok, February 23rd isn't exactly the best time to work your compost pile. With two little kids and a part time job, one doesn't miss a window of opportunity.

Luckily, only the outside of the compost bin was frozen. I moved most of the last two months of scraps (preserved by frost) into a barrel.

I moved the rest of the partially composted stuff into a bucket. Then I dug out the thawed core of the pile.

While digging I found this supposedly compostable "corn cup" which I'm sure has been in my pile for at least two years. I left it there so I could photograph it again next year when I'm sure it will still resemble a piece of plastic.

I was able to cover the cold frame soil with about 3 inches of pretty nice looking stuff. I'm sure it will come back to life when it warms up in there.

I'm going to go back out and get the rest when it thaws, then rebuild the pile starting with the bucket.

Planted peas

I soaked them overnight before planting. Two pea lovers put them in the ground. (These were planted one week ago, April 24th.) I hope they nature before it gets too hot.

More cold frame starts

On Monday, Ames and I put a row of beets next to the arugula that is already up, and a new row of arugula next to that.

On the far side of the romaine, we put a row of scallions and two rows of Fedco winter lettuce mix. (That's the end of that pack.)

The cold frame is getting hot enough to need venting these days, and the soil is warm enough to protect the seedlings inside their closed box on cold nights.

Arugula is UP!

Nice. Turns out I wasn't crazy to plant those seeds on February 28th. They came up less than two weeks later.

Optimism

The cold frame was steamy in today's full sun. The trowel that had been standing up in the frozen soil all winter turned the soil easily and it was warm to the touch of cold hands.

Even though we still have 5-6 inches of snow covering the back yard, and we are forecasted to get 3-4 more tonight and tomorrow...

I planted a row of arugula and a row of romaine, seeds that were easy to find near the top of my seed box.

What's the worst that could happen?