With temperatures in the mid-40’s and bright sun, March 9th turned out to be the first day of 2013 I was able to get into the garden and do some hoeing and planting. The first inch of soil was frozen in spots but otherwise very workable.
First I took care of the garlic that I had wrongly planted back in October (see “Plant Garlic Cloves Not Bulbs“). Then I put in the Jerusalem Artichoke I received from the Food Not Lawns Cleveland seed swap back in January. The back middle of my garden along the northern fence seemed like the best place to bury it. I probably could have spread out the four tubers more, but oh well. (Note: I replanted them a few days later, spreading them out more).
Once the Jerusalem Artichokes were planted, I took on the task of making four east/west crooked rows for the Oregon Sugar Pod II Snow Peas (I suck at straight lines). I’m not sure if I was too early planting them as I read after the fact that they should have soaked in water overnight. So much to learn as a gardener, so many mistakes to make. I also put out my 2-liter bottles to prep the area for spinach. I direct sowed them on 3/14 (12 under the bottles and 6 without as a control group to see if the extra cover helps or hurts).
As my starts have matured (but not the Snarky Gardener), I’ve been planting them in whatever cups and pots I can scrounge. Pictured below is broccoli, kale, kohlrabi, spinach, and Swiss chard (which didn’t thrive and had to be eaten – yum). The plastic drawer allows these to be easily pulled into the house when snow and ice threaten to freeze my little friends. Unfortunately I’m not sure which ones are kale and which ones are kohlrabi (or if I even planted kohlrabi). A poor job of documentation when starting related seeds inside means I’ll just have to play it by ear when planting.
After all this, I decided to check up on my herbs after pulling off the leaf mulch. My sage looked OK, with some leaves green and others more gray. The rosemary is in bad shape and I’d be surprised if it comes back. I’ve even taken it off my latest garden plan (I’m a realistic optimist). I heard there’s a type that can overwinter in Ohio – Rosemary Arp. It’s a hybrid that must come from a transplant. It’s either that or the SG will need to “pot up” his rosemary in the fall. On the positive side, the oregano and thyme came back without issue. I think thyme is my favorite herb, as it grows very well and has both culinary and medicinary uses.
