The cold spell seems to have passed on and we have had a some nice and sunny days – hinting about Spring’s arrival next week.
Many of the seeds I planted this past Sunday have sprouted and are doing well so far. Almost all of the dahlias have come up as have the basil, Greek oregano, zinnias, and some of the orach. Last night I noticed a couple of tomatoes just beginning to peek through the soil mix.
My makeshift “greenhouses” are working well and I think I’ll use them again next year.
I ordered some more seeds from Johnny’s a few days ago and they arrived yesterday. I got a couple of varieties of winter squash and some Fava Beans. I won’t plant the beans until late summer as they require cool weather to set beans. I’ve read conflicting things about when to plant them but the best reference I’ve found so far says 3 weeks before the first killing frost. That would mean around the last of October or so. I might try pushing it and plant them in mid September. The harvest time is 90 days after planting.
I also ordered some floating row cover to try and fight squash bugs this year. My plan is to cover the beds when I plant the seeds and remove the covers when the plants begin to flower. I’ve gone back and forth about leaving them covered and hand pollinating but I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up with that. I think that once I uncover them, I’ll start using neem oil as a preventative and possible pyrethrin if I need something more powerful.
I’ll also use row covers on the melons that Mike wanted to grow this year.
Deltavore 