It’s officially spring! Despite always having trouble getting through February and the beginning of March with a positive attitude I did a good job of soaking in the present moments towards the end of winter instead of wishing them away like normal. It probably helps that we’ve had a mild winter and have had more sunny, warm spring days than we have cold ones. Today is one of those sunny days. I should be outside but I’m not quite done with my winter hibernation and I’m not feeling too inclined to be put to work so physically in the garden yet.
I feel that shift coming - the desire to be in the sun, hands and clothes dirty, sweat on my brow and falling asleep fulfilled and full of hope for the green abundance coming our way. It starts now. March. Spring. The next few weeks in particular are really busy around our homestead - getting seeds started, transplanting, direct sowing and prepping for our second kids’ gardening class.
Here’s what our garden looks like right now and what we’ve got coming up to ensure a vibrant spring garden and set ourselves up for a bountiful summer.
What’s growing now and what stage we’re at with things:
Indoors:
Luffa
We’ve got so many healthy plants. They started putting out their tendrils over the last few weeks. They benefited from potting up with a compost-based soil. We may need to pot them up one more time before they can be transplanted out in mid May.
Tomatoes
We have had excellent germination. We have two full trays of Amish paste and Roma tomatoes that are getting their secondary leaves. We have one full tray of salad and slicer tomatoes that are a little further behind but only by a couple of days. I’m hoping that starting them in a compost-based mix instead of a seed starting mix and in slightly larger pots will help us when it comes time to potting up.
Medicinal Garden
So far we’ve got marshmallow root that we cold stratified in the freezer and just planted. No germination yet as it’s only been a few days. We also started holy basil and bee balm.
The St. John’s wort is looking really good! I’ve never seen it before, it looks a little like corn!
Flower Garden
The celosia is looking really good. I’m not worried about thinning these out as we’ve grown them pretty densely in the past. I might regret this decision!
We have a lot of strawflowers as well. I’m hoping these do well - I don’t really enjoy growing these but love having them around in the winter since they hold their color and are great for crafting.
We just started some amaranth. I didn’t start this indoors last year and it never grew to the impressive state that it did two years ago when started from seed. I am telling myself that flowers are worth all the space in the seed starting set up!
Hardening Off/Transplanting:
Cabbage
These will be hardened off for another week. We are up to about 6 hours a day outside when the weather is not below 45 degrees.
Cauliflower
These will be hardened off for another week. We are up to about 6 hours a day outside when the weather is not below 45 degrees.
Broccoli
These will be hardened off for another week. We are up to about 6 hours a day outside when the weather is not below 45 degrees.
Broccoli Rabe
This has already begun flowering under indoor light so we expedited the hardening off process to get it in the ground. If it’s about to bolt there’s not much to lose, right? This is an early variety and I think it should just be direct sown for this reason!
Snapdragons
The snapdragons are cold tolerant flowers so we will be transplanting them out in another week or so. Another thing that I’m just flying by the seat of my pants and hoping for the best. A reminder to other gardeners out there that it’s okay to not be an expert in everything that you’re growing and just try something and hope for the best!
Leeks
I don’t have much hope for these. I started them mostly because I have the seeds and if they turn out I will be happy. Following phenology, forsythia blooms are a sign that it’s time to plant onions. I grow onions from sets and they haven’t been shipped yet (based on where you live and I guess it hasn’t caught up with our climate change yet…more on this in the future). So for now, leeks in the ground it is!
Direct Sowing:
Peas
I’m anxious to see these sprout. We do everything by the book and yet we still lose so many peas to birds!
Carrots
Beets
Calendula
Broccoli Rabe
I’m going to try direct sowing these since the ones I started indoors are already flowering!
Coming up in the next few weeks:
Chores:
Uncovering the remaining rows and beds.
Weeding.
Turning and sifting compost to cover beds.
Cleaning the goat barn - using winter bedding for growing potatoes with the Ruth Stout method.
Take apart the greenhouse and salvage what we can of the materials for cold frames, etc. (hoping to just throw a bunch of sunflower seeds in this spot!).
Starting Indoors:
Lettuce
Indigo
Borage
Zinnia
Potting Up:
Tomatoes
Direct Sowing/Planting:
Potatoes (seed potatoes)
Onions (sets)
Lettuce
Cilantro
Strawberries (bare root)
And a look at the garden:
We have garlic, spinach, sage, and kale overwintering in the garden. We keep harvesting the spinach for a touch of deep green in our bellies. The kale looks a bit sad, but I remember this from last year. I have hope that it will start to burst back to life in the next few weeks!
We added some general kelp fertilizer to the garlic. I’m a few weeks late in doing so, but better late than never! This is something I like to do in the spring when the leaves start to grow much faster. I’m hoping that our few cold nights coming up don’t impact growth too much now that the plant has shifted energy to the aerial parts!
What’s growing in your garden? Let me know in the comments!
Loved your tip for planting onions when the forsythia bloom—I’m heading outside now to get my sets in the ground!