I finally sowed seeds for early cool season vegetables today, including lettuce, mesclun, radishes, spinach, and peas, and planted white and yellow onion sets. Sounds like the makings of a good salad! I think this is just about the latest that I’ve gotten started with the cool season vegetables, at least the latest in the last 6 years since I have been keeping records. First it was cold, then it rained, then it was cold, then it rained. But today was beautiful. Clear blue skies, slightly cool, the best conditions for working outside.
The only reason I was able to plant today was because of the raised beds. I don’ t have to till them up in the spring. I just use a digging fork to turn over the soil, rake it out, and then start planting. Also, since the beds are raised, they tend to dry out faster than a normal vegetable garden, and so I can get into them much sooner after a lot of rain. Without the raised beds, I would probably still not be working in the garden, with all the rain we’ve had. (See previous post for how I made these raised beds.)
I also planted my new strawberries this afternoon in one of the raised beds. I was pleased with how the crowns I got in the mail looked. Very healthy and fresh.
But, before I did any planting, I spent a good hour pulling out all the ground ivy that was growing in the mulched paths around the raised beds. There was a lot of it, and it was already flowering, so I wanted to get it pulled out before it set seed. Too bad there is no market for it and it isn’t edible, since I had a bumper crop of it.
Still a lot to do, but it can’t all be done in a day.
What is mesclan?
Mesclun is a mix of salad greens. The mix I got includes Ruby and Red Salad Bowl, Green Ice, Paris White Cos and Royal Oak Leaf, Curled Chervil and Arugula. It should be ready to harvest in about 6 weeks or so.