We are about six weeks away from our last frost! My guess is that with as warm as this year has been, we aren’t actually going to have too many more frosts, but this is Colorado. You never can tell. We are proceeding under the assumption that our last frost will be around or just after Mother’s Day, which is Sunday, May 13. If you can, clear your calendar the weekend of May 19/20–that will be our biggest planting weekend!
Everywhere you go right now, there are beacons of spring: forsythias. Forsythias are the shrubs in full screaming-bright-yellow bloom right now. The rest of the summer they will be green, and fairly inconspicuous, but this time of year they are all calling, “Boo-YA! Spring is here!!” Forsythias bloom when the ground temperature reaches about 55 degrees–that’s just about the temperature the ground needs to be to plant a bunch of cool season vegetables.
This weekend, we will be planting seeds both inside and out. Although we might still have a couple of frosts to come, the forsythia tells us that soil temperatures are high enough to get seeds germinating. So let’s get ’em in the ground!
Here are the seeds we’re planting this weekend:
Indoors:
Cauliflower
Lettuce
Radicchio
Watercress
(please be sure to see Lesson #4 below, if you haven’t already)
Outdoors:
Bok Choy (this is a new one for me this year–will let you know how it goes!)
Broccoli & Broccoli Raab
Greens – Mustard & Collard
Kohlrabi (weird looking, but so delish!)
Peas **before planting peas, soak the seeds in water overnight**
Radishes
Spinach
(please be sure to see Lesson #5 below, if you haven’t already)
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