Gardening indoors

We recently had a cold spell for a couple of weeks where wind chills were below zero. Temperatures are now in the 30's during the day. My youngest daughter says it smells like Spring. Perhaps that is a bit of hopeful thinking, but it certainly is a relief to be past the bitter cold.

With the Holidays behind us, I am beginning to think about the garden and looking for an opportunity get out my gardening books to make a garden plan and schedule for seed starting. It is nice that we have the 5 garden frames to start with this year. One of the benefits of the soil mix that we prepared is that it will be very easy to plant seeds directly as soon as the temperature begins to warm. Perhaps I will even have time to put up a greenhouse to get an extra early start.

My friends at Osage Gardens in New Castle, CO inform me that January 26 is Eliot Coleman day at their latitude (~39N). This is the day when there are 10 hours of sunlight and plants begin to grow again in anticipation of longer days and sun warmth. We are at 43 degrees N, so not far behind.

I have been sprouting 4 tablespoons of alfalfa/clover seeds and 4 tablespoons of mung beans which yield about a quart and a half of alfalfa sprouts and a pint of mung sprouts every five or six days. So far this has been a good pace when supplemented with lettuce from the market. We like the sprouts on sandwiches and in our salads or even on top of crackers with cheese. I am hoping to start a tray or two of sunflower and buckwheat sprouts this weekend which will grow to three or four inches before harvesting.