Cools Are Up

Most of the cool-season seeds I planted a couple of weeks ago are up and growing well, for some reason my lettuce didn't emerge, so I'll toss out some more seeds later today. The cute little heart-shaped arugula and radish leaves are happy and need to be thinned.  I purchased broccoli plants from the garden center since I didn't start them from seeds indoors. It was such a deal for this 6-pak since there are 4 plants per cell, I'll split them carefully and share with friends. I have hardened them off, meaning I have increased their time and sun exposure outside over the past five days. If they had gone from being in a nice, wind-free indoor garden center directly to the outside garden, they wouldn't be happy nor able to withstand the elements very well.

I see that the weather will be warm for the next several days so I may not have to cover at night, I've been using the heavy row cover, which keeps plants warm down to 28 degrees.  After I plant more lettuce seeds I'll use the lighter row cover to help keep the seed bed moist. AND, it's time to seed additional cool season plants in another bed so there will be a continuous supply of vegetables all spring long.  This is called successive planting. It's not to late for you to plant cool-season seeds, get out there!

Arugula planted in scatter formation and radish in the row

Broccoli transplants from the garden center, they are hardened off and will go in later today