First Day in the Garden - 2009

For me, spring unofficially began yesterday.

It was my first day out in the garden, which means I’ll be eating my own vegetables very soon.

Different vegetables do better in different soil and air temperatures, so putting seeds in the ground requires a little understanding of the harvest calendar.

Since peas can do well in cooler conditions, they are usually one of the first vegetables I plant. The seeds (photo, above) are just dried peas. Germination depends on soil and weather conditions, but we should see some above-ground growth in about 10 days. The snap peas will be ready to eat (hopefully) the first week of June.

The weather report called for heavy rains today, so I was a little hesitant to plant other cool weather vegetables (i.e. radishes, dark leafy greens, lettuces, carrots) for fear of having the seeds washed away or become susceptible to rot.

However, I did throw some of last year’s leftover mesclun and bok choy seeds into the ground. If some take, great; if not, no big deal, since I’ll be planting the new seed I just bought next week.

(Tomorrow: Garlic Update)