...It's time to start planting.

 

“If spring came but once a century instead of once a year, or burst forth with the sound of an earthquake and not in silence, what wonder and expectation there would be in all hearts to behold the miraculous change.”                                                                                                                                                                                     Henry W. Longfellow

Hello Fellow Gardeners,

Spring is silently bursting forth once again.  Let's take the time to enjoy the miraculous change. Hopefully you've had some time to get your garden ready to plant. If you haven't already started planting, remove rocks and large twigs from the garden and give the soil a good raking first. Here are the things that you can safely plant now:

Peas – St. Patrick's Day is the traditional date to plant peas and potatoes in Western Pennsylvania. but since we had such a cold wet winter, I gave the soil a little extra time to dry out a bit. Peas that get plenty of sun will be sweeter than those grown in part shade.. If you're following the square foot garden method, you should have sixteen 1'x1' squares. Plant two rows of four peas in one square. If you're planting in rows, the peas can be planted close together, like two inches apart or even less. Make two rows of peas about six to eight inches apart. Leave 12 inches between double rows. Peas grow on vines and will need some type of support as they grow - one trellis between the double rows will suffice.

Onions – onion sets can be planted now in zones 5 and higher. Plant them one inch below the soil and give them enough room to grow into a nice sized onion. In a square foot garden, depending on the type of onion you can plant 9-16 to a square. Like other root vegetables, onions don't like competition, so keep the onion beds as free of weeds as you can.

Potatoes need room so they are not a good crop for square foot gardens. If you want to grow potatoes find a larger space for them. My potato bed is 8' x 4'. The nurseries should have seed potatoes now. Seed potatoes will be free of any potato diseases. Pick the ones with plenty of “eyes.” Cut them into pieces that have at least one or two eyes. Dig ditches 7-8 inches deep, creating mounds of soil between the ditches. Place the potato pieces at least six inches apart in the ditches, with the cut side down. Cover them with a few inches of soil but do not fill the ditches. When the potatoes sprout leaves, cover the leaves with the soil from the mounds. When the leaves emerge again hill up the soil around the plants. Do this twice and then let them grow.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email me at roseannlord7@gmail.com.

Reflection: What could be sweeter than the fragrance of the spring air? Those of you who live or work in the DC area have the wonderful benefit of the cherry blossoms which should be at the height of their season about now. Our gardens, in addition to providing us with the best possible food, help to purify the air and reduce our carbon footprint.