March 2021; What’s In The Garden?

As January turned to February, my seed collection suddenly started jumping out of their storage site and just started screaming at my like my toddler “time to plant, time to plant, time to plant”. I have my seeds organized by month to plant which is evidently a mistake because all I want to do as soon as the calendar says it’s the first of the month, I want to get them rolling.

Now, obviously, February is too early to be planting outdoors, even in zone 8a, but there’s plenty of seeds that I was able to start indoors, and some that I maybe should have waited to start, but where’s the fun in that?

Below is a diagram of what I have cooking up in my window, getting ready to be planted outdoors

A – Holly Hock
B – Homegrown banana pepper
C – Homegrown jalapeno
D – Guajillo pepper
E – Bell pepper
F – Jalapeno
G – Red hot cherry peppers

H – Habanero peppers
I – Mixed hot peppers
J – Cherry bomb peppers
K – Tomatillo
L – Peanuts
M – Rosemary
N – Red cabbage

O – Green cabbage
P – Beefsteak tomato
Q – Black eyed Susans (vine)
R – Romaine lettuce
Sm – San marzano tomato
T – Sweet aroma tomato

I soaked all my seeds before planting (excluding the peanuts) and I am itching to get them outside, mostly because Cecilia (daughter-person) keeps trying to play in the dirt that’s inside and very clearly out for her to play in.

I tend to these babies daily (in order to do so, I have to move a couch, set a curtain aside, and turn a bookshelf, but whatever I need to do to protect them from my kid) and am counting down in my calendar for when I can start hardening them off.

Hardening off
Slowly exposing seedlings that were raised in controlled conditions (such as indoors without wind and with constant temps) through visits outdoors before planting them in the garden.

I’m also learning so much from my propagation class. Too much. It makes my plans get crazier and crazier. But at least for now, the outdoor gardens are pretty quiet. I have kale and radishes planted in my raised bed, cilantro in my new 3 sisters plot (later in the year, when everything is warmer and after my troves of cilantro is harvested for cilantro relish, the plot will belong to beans, corn, and squash), I just got my first ever batch of potatoes in the ground, of course I have my garlic planted and growing from November, with some spinach planted among it, and my perennial everbearing strawberries are just starting to perk up again. The garden is starting to see a lot of action and I’m dreaming of when my plots will be teeming with new life.