roll of the dice

Awoke this morning to the sound of rain pattering on the asphalt shingles. At least it sounded like rain. In fact it was a wet mix of slush and rain that closely resembled snow but wasn't. So much for rolling the dice and underestimating mother nature's furious fickleness. Will have to wait and see what the day brings, but at least the precipitation's done with (for now) and the soupy, iced manifestation of an anxious gardener's worst early-spring nightmare will soon vanish. Hopefully, anyway. The ground did not freeze, and with temps hovering well above 32 F there is reason to be optimistic that all is not lost. There are extra seedlings to fill in the ranks, besides. Though it's much too soon to gauge whether the seedlings planted yesterday will tolerate this affront on their vigor so early in life, they have a genetic predisposition for cold-hardiness on their side. God speed little ones.

seed flats sown

Spring looms through cold rains but daylight savings is the home gardener's best friend. To busy myself and make it through these winnowing winter days, planting seeds proves a welcome respite. Instead of using 2.5" pots with a few seeds in each (last year's method), I'm testing a new and hopefully more efficient way of cranking out some early spring starts.

The flats (11" by 20") are filled to just below the top edge with a self-assembled mix consisting of 1 part peat moss, 1 part perlite, and 2 parts compost. A pinch of seeds is broadcast over the surface of the media and additional mixture is sprinkled over the flat to ensure the seeds are covered. The flat is kept moist (propagation domes work best) and warm. Germination should follow in a few short days.

In choosing what to plant first, cold-hardiness wins the selection game, and the seedlings sprouted so far include cabbages, chards, kales, mustards, mache and other various greens. In spite of the seasons' reticence to relent on this mucky cold wetness, it's also time to start thinking of tender varieties to begin indoors; i.e. tomatoes and the rest of the solanums. Yum.