Sunday, March 31, 2013

Easter in the Garden

Snow-Drops-at-Tower-Hill

 

It was a very pleasant Sunday, breezy but temperatures in the mid-50F range. We visited Tower Hill Botanical Gardens in Boylston. There was not much to see outside in the gardens, just some snow drops and crocus. Their gardens look pretty much like my own, weary of this winter but showing signs of the new growth that will soon turn everything from this drab grey-brown to green.

 

Garden-31Mar2013

 

This morning I made a quick trip to see the garden. I was hoping to find the beds free of snow and indeed they were. A thermometer stuck in the pea bed showed a temperature of 48F and the soil was completely defrosted all the way to the bottom of the bed. So pea planting looks like a possibility next weekend, about three weeks later than planned.

 

Garlic

 

I brushed some of the mulch off the garlic bed so it can warm up faster. Green sprouts can be seen everywhere in the bed and they look pretty healthy. Unfortunately, it appears most of the shallots either heaved or rotted. I am not sure if any will actually survive and grow. This was a fairly costly experiment, but it does free up the space for something else.

 

Brassica-and-lettuce

 

My brassicas and lettuces are doing great under the grow light and should be ready to go in the garden in a few weeks. The boisterous seedlings at the bottom are the Win-Win Choi. After seven days, I have a few tomato seeds finally deciding to sprout. Peppers and eggplant are still idling away on the heat mat, taking their good old time. Meanwhile, the onion pots are spending time outside in the sun on days with daytime temperatures in the fifties.

4 comments:

  1. One spring my shallots all looked like they had rotted. I pulled most of them, but did leave a few in. They were fine! They developed just as they were supposed to. In the future, I won't be so quick to pull them out.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the tip. I wasn't going to completely panic just yet, but they do look pathetic.

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  2. I find peppers and eggplants always take ages to sprout. I'm sowing and planting out my winter veg at the moment. Broccoli, Cauliflowers, peas, broad beans etc.

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  3. Glad the beds are thawed and warming up for you! Your seedlings look great too. The busy spring season in the garden is officially underway at our house. Get's kind of crazy all through April but calms down in May as things just need maintenance for a while.

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