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Monday, March 17, 2014

First harvest of spinach

It's not much, just what I got by thinning the two rows of overwintered spinach, removing the plants that are now crowding each other.  There's maybe an ounce or two, but it's a start.  The spinach is Bloomsdale Long Standing, a common variety that's not my first choice, but last year the spinach seed that germinated in the spring would not germinate in the fall, and this was the only seed I could find.  It was seeded in mid October.

The weather is improving and the spinach is growing now.  The plants should be ready for another thinning in about a week.  This is what I got, and it's baby spinach for sure.  It went straight into an omelette and it was really really tasty.

Lettuce is growing in the Earthbox in the mobile coldframe.  The seedlings were transplanted there a few days ago and are growing well.  The onions went through a cold night last night are looking a little worse for the wear.  The outside temperature fell to 22F, and the temperature inside the coldframe fell to 29F.  I think they will come through this.  If some are lost it won't matter, there are 144 cells seeded in onions and I don't plan to set out more than 100 plants.  I've still got about 10 pounds of onions from last year.  They are Ruby Ring and store very well.

Except for Sunday and last night the weather is getting better.  The pond is still frozen over, but there's some water at the edges, and the spring peepers came alive a few days ago.  I'll be happy to see the rest of the frozen stuff gone.  It's been a long winter.

2 comments:

Mark Willis said...

What are "spring peepers"?
Re the spinach: you've done better than me. I have tried many times to grow spinach, but have never been successful. It always bolts before delivering a worthwhile harvest. Maybe I'll try some over-wintering ones...

gardenvariety-hoosier said...

Mark- spring peepers are a species of chorus frog, a small frog that comes alive in the spring in wet areas. When there are many of them their chorus can be deafening. They last for a few weeks.

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