Spring has arrived in gloomy Pittsburgh! (or at least it paid us a visit for a weekend) We took advantage of the beautiful weather at our house by taking care of some outdoor projects that we have been planning all winter, including transplanting our coral bark maple. I expanded my vegetable garden bed, and cleaned out my greenhouse for spring, while my husband worked on the hardscaping.
Now that the days are getting longer, I decided it was a great time to start some more Merlo Nero Spinach and Dwarf Scotch Kale in large containers in the greenhouse. I still have lettuce going strong from my September planting, but chipmunks and mice managed to get in and raid the remainder of the Swiss Chard from fall.
My crocuses are blooming and look gorgeous in white, gold and purple. They have definitely multiplied since last spring. The Witch Hazel is in bloom as well with it’s stunning spidery copper flowers. At the end of the front walk, the winter aconite (eranthis) is all sunny with bright yellow blossoms.
I’m getting a jump on my seed planting by using old, large aquariums that we had, just collecting dust, for seed starting in the basement. Aquarium hoods with fluorescent bulbs make great grow lights and the aquarium makes a great protected and climate controlled mini-greenhouse. I have Bleu de Solaise Leeks, Charlotte Chard, Snowball Self-Blanching Cauliflower, and Waltham 29’ Broccoli and Purple Vienna Kohlrabi seedlings, that I started at the beginning of February, growing under the lights. Last weekend I started Black Krim, Persimmon, Riesentraube, Marmonde, Chocolate Cherry, and Polish Linguisa Tomatoes, along with India Paint Eggplant and Sweet Yellow Stuffing Peppers. The tomatoes are already sprouting! It makes me so excited for this year’s growing season. And this weekend I started Apple Blossom Snapdragons and Pink Senorita Zinnias.
I’ll continue starting seeds as the spring progresses based on the time it takes for the plants to mature, curcurbits mature very quickly and won’t need to be started until much closer to planting time, and some veggie seeds will need to be planted directly in the soil once the soil temperature is warmer.
Every year my aim is to have a better garden than the year before, so here’s to having my best garden ever! Cheers!
