Spring Gardening

We had summer-like weather here in Southeastern Massachusetts a few weeks ago. In Mid-March, we had a week of daytime temperatures in the seventies and several close to eighty degrees Fahrenheit. Everyone had the springtime bug. Many people around here dug out their shorts, tank tops and flip flops.

My kids and I also got the bug- the gardening bug, that is. We cleaned out the vegetable beds, turned the soil, and removed the rocks that seem to pop up every year. We knew it was early, and maybe even a bit risky, but we decided to plant pea pods. We figured there was as slight risk of a hard frost that would kill them but we didn't care. We'd just replant, if needed.

Here's a little photographic essay to show the process and results:

18 March. We placed the seeds in a zig zag pattern below the support wires.

We poked them in up to our second knuckles- the perfect depth.

31 March. The first little sprouts appeared.

5 April. Nearly all of the seeds have sprouted.

5 April. More leaves appear on each sprout.

Here in the northeast, now is the perfect time to plant cold weather crops like pea pods, arugula, and kale. These hardy vegetables can handle a light frost. A hard frost could kill your plants, but that seems unlikely at this point since we barely had a hard frost all winter.

Have you started planting outside, yet? What are you growing?

For more vegetable gardening tips, check out these posts:

Confessions of a Passive Gardener

Planting Time (Includes more details about planting pea pods)

Gardening Without a Yard (includes suggested books)

Early Growth in the Garden (includes a recipe)