Strawberries and beets

Yesterday evening I planted about 30 beets in the garden and cleaned up about half of the strawberry bed. I didn't trim the runners last season, so there are a few new plants and many old leaves and runners to trim. It sure is nice having the frames all ready to go. Last year I had to move them all before I could start planting and in previous years, they were being built. Given time and foresight, I would build new garden frames in the fall so that they are ready to go as early as possible in the spring.

Daylight savings

Sunday was the first day of Daylight Savings Time. It is always a challenge to remember when it is DST and when it is "normal" time (UTC). The EU had a good idea by naming it "Summer Time". In Great Britain they use the acronym BST for "British Summer Time". Anyway, I took advantage of the longer daylight in the evening and the good weather to plant a couple of garden frames with lettuce.

In one frame, I used the traditional four plants to a square spacing all around the perimeter. In the center squares, I planted chard at four to a square. In another frame, I planted lettuce about one every 3 inches for a total of more than 150 plants. The idea is to start enough lettuce early that I will be able harvest baby greens and start eating fresh salads as early as possible. Both of these frames have been covered with plastic to protect them from frost and to encourage growth.

The next things on my list are to thin the strawberries back to four plants per square, to plant some beets and carrots and to prune the fruit trees.

Crocuses

We were happy to see the first crocuses preparing to unfurl their petals this morning. We started a tray of kale inside and soaked some pea and chard seeds. The lettuce planted 2/27 is doing well. I would plant it outside now if the weather cooperated.

Hello lettuce

I started some lettuce and other greens this evening. I am trying to keep things as simple as possible. I made a note last year to not start lettuce inside, because it took up time and space inside and by the time it got over transplant shock, the seeds that I had planted outside directly had caught up. However, this year I am planning to put these plants outside in covered frames as soon as possible. I may find that seeds that are planted directly do just as well or better than these, but it is worth another try.

Here is my simple setup:
Seed starting mix (90% spaghnum moss, perlite, fertilizer, wetting agent)
Clear plastic container with lid
Spray bottle with water
Mesclun salad mix (lettuces: black-seeded simpson, red salad bowl, lolla rossa, and royal oak leaf; arugula, radicchio)

1) fill container with seed starting mix to about 1" depth
2) mix with enough water to lightly dampen (2 cups)
3) spray with water until water pools, allow to absorb
4) sprinkle seeds across entire surface
5) sprinkle with a layer of starting mix to barely cover
6) spray with water again
7) put on lid and place in relatively cool dark place
8) spray and check daily for sprouts
9) when seeds begin to sprout, remove cover, put under grow lights and keep soil moist until ready to plant out


The cardinals were out in force this morning after being very quiet most of the winter.