The first sprouts of the new season have emerged. The mustard and pak choi planted 11 days ago are up. I lifted the cover to check for peas, but those are still sleeping. I am not expecting the cilantro any time soon, so I was not surprised they were not up. The miracle of seeds is always amazing. These seeds were saved from the previous spring’s plants. Now, a new generation is here. I have never started any this early and I am interested to see how things will grow with such short days.
Earlier this fall, a nearby market gardener mentioned that he planted his peas on January 1st. I’ve never planted anything out in the garden this early by at least six or eight weeks, but I thought it might be worth a shot. I have never had much success with peas either, so maybe planting time is my issue and this will be the year.
I spread some fresh soil on a section of the hugel that seems to be get the most winter into spring sunlight and planted two six foot rows of peas. I also filled in the gaps with some cilantro, pak choi and mustard. All seeds were saved from 2020 and are plants that seem to be good candidates for an ultra early planting try. I covered the section with lightweight row cover as much to keep the squirrels out as to keep the heat in. It is forecast to be mild for the next couple of weeks- highs in the 50’s, lows in the 30’s, but also a little rainy and cloudy. I’ve had seeds rot in the early spring, so I am concerned about that here in the beginning of a wet winter, but maybe being up on the hugel in some fresh, fluffy soil will mitigate that some. We will see!
