Saturday, March 28, 2009

The peas are up!

I remember the excitement in a letter to my grandmother from her sister about the emergence of peas in the spring. Back in those super-pressured days I didn't understand that excitement, but this morning I surely did.

My first (Sugar Ann) peas are up, the ones I planted in the second week of March. They poke up a stalk of about a half inch, in startling contrast to those celery and parsley seeds I could scarcely see while transplanting indoors. I found plenty of weeds to take from among the pea seedlings this morning. Anyone else having a bumper crop of early scallions (also called "onion grass") this year?



Yesterday I rejoiced in planting the last of my peas this year. You put them in the ground about two inches apart at about a two inch depth. I put two rows (alternating close and near to the fence) on each side of each "pea fence." Thus my big pea fence supports four rows of sugar snap peas. I still have a few from last year in my freezer, but I'm licking my lips for fresh ones. If you haven't planted any yet, they say it's not too late throughout April for a June harvest.

I pulled the last of last year's carrots this morning. They tend to get stringy or mushy if I leave them in the ground much later. I now have lots in the frig, due partly to last summer's great growing season, and partly to the fact that I put lots of area last year into carrots and parsnips (which aren't quite all pulled).

I've sowed seeds outside of lettuce, arugula, and hurakai turnips, and plan soon to sow radishes.

Less fun than this is filling the wall-of-waters with water. These are connected plastic tubes in a circle that you can buy from most garden catalogs. After you fill the tubes with water, you put them around a plant.

Now I'm putting them around broccoli, but soon I'll have some around tomato plants. Renae gave me two amazing tomato plants she sowed inside on January 11, and one already has seven buds -- one of which is thinking of flowering!

I plan to put it out in the most protected place inside a WoW on the first day of April, next Wednesday. I'm sure it won't think that's an April Fool's joke, but it may be startled. What do plants feel?

The fruit trees are budding, as are the lilacs. If you walk by 56 Gordonhurst Avenue, do notice that the winter rose is blooming next to the sidewalk. It is advertised to bloom in February, but late March is nice.

The crocuses are outdoing themselves now. I have almost finished putting this winter's bulbs in the ground for next year, and the spring bulbs outdoors are looking promising. (Yes, I put the forced bulbs into the outdoor soil as soon as they look finished.)

Spring! Others have volunteered to open their gardens with me from 2-4 PM on April 25, May 16, and May 17, so we will have three garden tours this spring.

Pat

Read More......