Planting Day is Here!

[Mtnboomer]

Tomorrow is the big day! I look forward to this each year. Planting day!
Its been crazy warm here lately but it doesn't mean that the snow is over for the year. Its not uncommon to get snow here in the VA mtns in April. But my cool season crops are going in the ground tomorrow. Potatoes, lettuce, spinach, and peas are the first to hit the dirt. Nothing else we like can be planted until mid may.
Who else has gotten their hands dirty already?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

We're still frozen here, but working on an early spring. I'm itching to plant my cold crops too. Nothing better than fresh leaf lettuce.

 

[UrbnGardenPeeps]

I'm very jealous! We have a winter storm advisory for tonight for snow and heavy winds. We are still picking potatoes from last year, though (Idaho, go figure) and we have bulbs coming up. I noticed my rhubarb is starting to take off. We're mid-May for most things as well. Hubby and I are building a house out in the country and just desperate to get things in the ground! It's an old homestead and there are irises, a 100-yr-old lilac and some ancient plum trees already there. We're excited to do some more involved pruning. Last year we only took off the dead wood. We have an Italian plum and a Mirabelle plum.

 

[UrbnGardenPeeps]

We're still frozen here, but working on an early spring. I'm itching to plant my cold crops too. Nothing better than fresh leaf lettuce.

Butter lettuce....!!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Several of my pea seeds have already sprouted and are slowly inching upwards. I used some stiff bird netting to make a mini trellis and hopefully they'll climb up that instead of me needing to place supports at each one.

Other sprouts: radish, bok choy, mizuna, turnip. I also recently seeded spinach and beets.

Indoors my tomato starts need to be repotted again, they're already about 8" tall. Basil starts will get repotted in a few weeks. Also have celery, pepper and eggplant starts going.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I gotta start my tomatoes yet. Generally at the end of March here.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Several of my pea seeds have already sprouted and are slowly inching upwards. I used some stiff bird netting to make a mini trellis and hopefully they'll climb up that instead of me needing to place supports at each one.

Other sprouts: radish, bok choy, mizuna, turnip. I also recently seeded spinach and beets.

Indoors my tomato starts need to be repotted again, they're already about 8" tall. Basil starts will get repotted in a few weeks. Also have celery, pepper and eggplant starts going.

I built this stand for all my indoor starters this year. Its mostly trees right now (chestnut, oak, and apple) but there is also basil, oregano, cilantro, and my seed testers of cantaloupe, watermelon, 3 pumpkin varieties, corn, okra, and tomato. Im always late getting my tomatoes started. The testers are to make sure the seeds we harvested last year are viable and ready to plant this year.

Im paranoid that if i didn't check, i will have screwed something up and ruined the seeds then planted the whole garden with worthless seed and nothing grows.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Im paranoid that if i didn't check, i will have screwed something up and ruined the seeds then planted the whole garden with worthless seed and nothing grows.

Never occurred to me to test - with certain plants I seem to get a very good germination rates even with older seeds so I always assume they'll grow fine.

If I do have issues getting a particular seed started I'll usually just switch course and grow something else in that spot.

 

[Melodychick]

Down here I’ve had cool weather crops growing all winter. Planted onions and potatoes last month and they are doing well. Today, the tomatoes and squash go in. I had to restart the cucumbers, so they will be a few weeks late. Eggplant is in pots outside hardening off, so maybe next weekend they can be planted. I just hope the bugs don’t do me in like they have the last 2 years!

 

[Mtnboomer]

2 seasons ago it rained almost every day. There was only (1) 5 day stretch without rain all year. My cool crops drowned. Seeds rotted in the ground. Warm stuff did awesome.
Last year, we had an awesome spring but then 3 months in summer without a drop of rain. Overall we still had a great harvest but the garden was plagued with squash bugs and blight.
Hopefully this year we get back to normal and have a regular growing season. Fingers crossed.