Early Spring Gardening

[Chuck Farley]

I love to grow my own leaf lettuce for salads. Several years ago, I used a compost bin that was almost full of shredded leaves. I added completed compost mixed in with garden soil and planted my leaf lettuce. The advantages are several. It's high so no stooping is required. Rabbits can't reach it. I haven't seen any slugs. It's cleaner than lettuce grown in our dirt with a high red clay content. Anyway, here's a picture. I'll try to duplicate it again this spring.

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[simpleman]

Very cool. I'm going to build raised beds this year. I didn't have a garden last year. I love to grow my own fresh veggies. With the prices going up all around us it should really pay off if I do it right and collect my seeds for next year. No GMO's here.

[AgentOrange]

I have had spinach growing on the deck all Winter, some cabbage and a little lettuce, parsley and garlic. Pretty much if you get these established before a hard freeze, they can take a lot of cold. For lunch today, had a peanut butter, mayo and spinach sandwich.
Garlic does especially well in Winter and I constantly harvest a leaf or two for salads. The bulbs can be taken in late summer when the leaves dry up.

This has been a nice warm Winter. Spring flowers have been blooming for weeks. We had two nights last week near 20, but most nights are not going much below freezing if that. I noticed that Highlands which is only about 30 miles from here as the crow flies hit 6 degrees last week. Elevation at 4118 does count. In my yard it is 670, and those hills (Blue Ridge Mts) protect us from the mid west weather.

[AgentOrange]

Planting here before the second week of April is not good. This has been a nice Winter, and the forecast looks good, so I am going to break my rule and start digging tomorrow. I want to dig some cow crap into my raised vegetable beds.
I think I will also sow some lettuce and spinach seed. If cold gets them , no big deal.

On the deck, lettuce, cabbage and spinach have been producing enough for two all Winter.

Actually putting out warm weather things (maters) too early does not help much. Even with no late freeze, they will not kick into growth until the soil warms. My soil is in the high 50's right now. I judge that on pond water. Today it is up to 57 and the turtles and frogs are out.
For Summer vegetables, 65 gets them up and growing. They will survive now, but those put in later will mature at about the same time.
It is not so much right now about Sun Shine and 80, but the night temps.

Yesterday I planted my favorite herb - Sweet Basil - in a porch pot and stretched Saran Wrap over it to keep in moisture and magnify the Sun Shine. Either I will have early Basil or be out about a dime in seeds. :devilish:

[AgentOrange]

My plan was to plant spinach in the mater pots on my dock. The maters were the best I have ever grown.

I could not find the seed I had ordered and forgot about it. Ran across it last night, planted it today.
I suppose it may be too late, but WTF?

[Marty Gass]

The only way I can grow food would be to have a green house. The deer eat everything we have ever planted. They even seem to like peaches. We eat a lot of romaine lettuce and plant the stubs. When they get about 2 inches tall the deer eat them. We still plant them. Maybe we will try to grow them on the back porch next spring and summer.