My soil is workable!! And only 6 days ago we had a foot of snow.....
What does it mean when a seed packet says : "Plant as soon as soil is workable?"
Well, it's cause for excitement and celebration!!! It means the soil is thawed and has drained enough so that its not too wet to turn with a shovel. It means your boots didn't sink in the mud. Your shovel didn't get stuck in frozen soil. Your garden gate opened without a foot of snow blocking it.
It doesn't mean you need to turn it before planting. I've planted early crops the past few years without turning the soil. I just draw a furrow and plant beet, pea, or carrot seeds. Lettuce, arugula, endive .... (so many crops, so little time)
I'm thinking I'll plant my first outdoor crops at the end of next week. We still have cold weather predicted. And a bit of snow - though I'm sure it will be short-lived. My seed packets are ready. This week I'm planing to get my plot ready by turning last year's compost, setting up a new compost bin, cleaning up my plot, taking a soil sample and doing some planning. ..... Next week I'll plant.
4 comments:
Lucky you :) - we still have frozen ground. It won't be too much longer though.
We also have a chance of more snow on the way, maybe Tuesday. I expect it to not last for long also. At least i hope, most of our snow is almost gone right now.
So jealous...
Sent from the still frozen north, minneapolis
I'm enjoying watching your season progress. I live in Zone 5b NY. My soil was workable last weekend but now it's frozen solid again! Unfortunately I didn't do anything with it when I had the chance.
We held off sowing anything directly at the Lottie. It has been so cold, the soil went from icy hard to soggy quagmire. Hopefully it will dry up a bit this week. Blossom appearing on the cherry tree outside our house though and Daffodils nodding in the breeze! Always cheers the spirit.
Marian (LondonUK)
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