It hasn’t snowed here for years. Today four and a half inches of snow have fallen, and it hasn’t stopped yet. But I’m itching to be in the garden.
Fortunately for me, it’s only 10 weeks until the average last frost. That means I can start sowing a few things, both indoors and out.
Just before it began to snow, I sowed some seeds of Oriental poppy, Papaver orientale ‘Coral Reef.’ Oriental poppies can take the freeze-thaw cycles, and they much prefer direct sowing to transplantation. That said, I’m hedging my bets and planting a few seeds in coco-fiber pots, which like peat pots can be directly planted into the ground, minimizing root disturbance.
Indoors, I’m sowing seeds of Verbena bonariensis and Physalis ‘Cossack Pineapple’ ground cherry. Both require (or appreciate, anyway) a longer head start than the typical 6 to 8 weeks of most vegetables. And more veggies and open-pollinated annuals are waiting their turns; I’ll profile some of the ones I’m most excited about in the coming weeks.
