Garden

With two feet of snow outside, sometimes I despair of the day ever coming when I will actually have a garden. All the same, tomorrow marks eight weeks until the last frost date, so I am trying to keep up hope. Then again, this has been such a wacky winter that I am a bit worried that frosts will persist past that date.

The eight weeks mark means another thing though: it means that it's time to start seeds. I had already practiced a bit by starting seeds for herbs meant to be house plants to keep us going all year, and maybe give us some fresh herbs before spring is fully settled in. Back in January, I sowed German chamomile, sweet marjoram, oregano, chives, parsley, basil, rosemary, and forget-me-nots, which I just happened to have lying around. All of the seeds were from past years, so besides being practice, I wanted to know what was viable before I actually started seeds for the garden. The German chamomile sprouted very quickly, just as it was supposed to, and is growing quite well. The parsley had the longest germination period, but is finally poking its head out of the soil. Unfortunately, it seems that the oregano, chives, and rosemary were not viable. On the other hand, they are part of a plant package that I ordered, so I'm not too bummed about it.

Today, I started the first seeds that will be transplanted outside when the weather improves. We use a lot of tomatoes around here, so I started nine plants, all heirlooms. Four are Old Virginia, four are Arkansas Traveller, and one is Rutgers, which was a freebie from the seed company. I also planted Bullnose peppers, an intriguing variety that has sweet flesh but hot ribs. I started pot cilantro, vital for all the salsa that I plan on making this summer.

Using a heat propagation tray, I started Danish Ballhead cabbage and Red Danish cabbage. The Red will probably be pickled and served at the table, but I plan on using the Ballhead for sauerkraut, a superfood. Also in the tray, I started a different variety of basil, which hopefully will end up decorating our front yard. I also had ordered a seed set of edible flowers, consisting of: calendula, heartsease (AKA Johnny-Jump-Up), nasturtiums, borage, and citrus marigolds. In the non-edible category, I started French marigolds, which supposedly help repel nasty insects like mosquitos. Here's hoping, since we had a bit of a mosquito problem last year.

I'm impatiently awaiting the delivery of a few more seeds: a purple basil named Rosie, some wild bergamot destined for my teacup, and bell pepper seeds. Later on, after our last frost date, some plants will arrive: kale, leeks, and a big selection of herbs. We'll round out our garden with plants from our farmers' market when it opens in May.

That is, if this snow ever decides to melt.