How exciting to begin 2008's garden in January. Long a dream, now a reality.
On Friday, I found myself poking around at OSH to fill up some rare free time. I picked up several seed packets, three bags of compost and a six-pack of broccoli -- Cape Queen F-1 Hybrid variety. It was the last one there and aside from a couple of yellowing leaves here and there the starts looked healthy.
After a solid week of rain, Saturday saw a break in the clouds and I put them in. Due to some uneven ground, there are large puddles of standing water surrounding the raised beds in areas which required a few strategically placed wooden boards in order to gain access.
After sprinkling compost and digging it in a bit I also planted several seed varieties: "German Giant" radish, "Salad Bowl" lettuce, "Garden Babies Butterhead" container lettuce and "Catalina" baby leaf lettuce. The lettuces went into my half wine barrel planter and a low lying bowl planter.
As I worked the local scrub jays squawked, no doubt in excitement. Somehow they knew my actions meant fresh seeds for pecking at a later time. I am anxious to see what actually sprouts of course. I'm hoping for several successive plantings.
A few other seed packs I brought home but have yet to plant are: "Harmony Hybrid" spinach which appears to have more crinkled leaves than the Catalina, chives and Slow-Bolt Cilantro which can be planted as early as February according to the package notes.
Fingers-crossed, I hope there will be something positive to post in 7 to 14 days.
1 year ago
