Itching to garden but shoveling snow not soil

Mon. Apr. 16, 2018

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Itching to Garden but shoveling not soil

I’ve never seen so many people so ready for Spring to actually get here!  The itch is real and it’s not from mosquitoes!  So, I guess we got that going for us!  Then we had one warm day and I was attacked by these…

I don’t know what they are but there were hundreds of them!

Our highs for most of the Upper Midwest are supposed to be in the Upper 50’s.  Hello, Mother Nature, we’re still waiting to shovel soil NOT snow!  The foot of snow hadn’t fallen before I recorded this show…

My “plans” are to start planting seeds of tomatoes and peppers…  the jury is still out shoveling snow, so we’ll see…

4-15-18

You can most definitely put seeds of lettuce, kale and other greens, if you can see soil.

Raised vegetable bed 4-15-18 (where the bedspring is)

Cole crop transplants like cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts can be planted, IF you can see soil!  ACK

Other cool season vegetables include include beets, carrots, peas and radishes.  Just remember, that soil remains in a tender condition so don’t plant when it’s wet.

Many garden centers are just considering opening this weekend, over 2 weeks later than normal and Earth Day is Sunday!

You can warm your soil with a plastic cover before you plant the seedlings, or use a cold frame to protect them from spring winds and late cold spells.  Most of the cool weather vegetables can tolerate a light frost, but keep a cloth handy for sudden cold days and late frosts. Extending the season with cool weather vegetables will keep your dinner table full of fresh nutritious vegetables for at least a few weeks longer.

cold frame

I was looking up some different kinds of carrots and discovered one called ‘Ya Ya’, so I HAD to click on it!  Turns out it’s quite a favorite, developed from a “sugar” carrot, it’s really sweet and juicy and perfect for Maple Carrot Cake.

Ya Ya