Hello!

You know, it’s later than you think! No, no, no! Don’t look out the window at all those patches of remaining ice and snow. And don’t listen to all those weather forecasts for more snow showers and more cold temperatures still to come. Just look at the calendar – it’s later than you think!

After all, we are getting into the final throes of March! Yes…

• March - as in time marches on!

• March – in like a lion, and out like a lamb! (Or so we hope!)

• March - the Ides of March – March 15 – not too healthy for Julius Caesar!
  (Actually a very bad day for good old Julius!)

• March – St. Patrick’s Day – March 17th.
  I’m sure that Patrick and all of his Irish compadres were gardeners – what with all that green!
  Happy St. Patty’s Day!

• March – the swallows return to San Juan Capistrano – March 19, also St. Joseph’s Day.

• March – the Spring Equinox – March 20 – the official start of Spring!

• March – the sun enters the zodiac sign of Aries.

• March – Easter is early this year – March 31st.

• March – in like a lion and truly out like a busy lamb!

But, hey, why are you sitting there? Let’s get it in gear! Let’s get going! Let’s get growing! Let’s start sowing (or at least start thinking about sowing)! It’s later than you think! So go find that old box of last year’s seed that you tucked away oh-so-very-long ago! Dust it off. Take a peek inside. Take a seed inventory. Need any more seed? Are you making a list, checking it twice? Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice? (Oops – wrong holiday!) But, hey, you get the picture! See what you’ve got and compare it to what you want to grow out in that garden this new season.

Those store seed racks are still calling out to you. And it’s still not too late to place an order to a seed mail order place. But don’t wait too long! Because now is the very busy, official “seed starting time”! If you have any intention of starting your own seeds for transplant this year, it’s almost time to start sowing those seeds. But which ones? Where to start?

Well, practically every kind of vegetable variety ever invented can be started early indoors, and then transplanted outside later in your garden when the time is right. Some veggies can easily make that giant leap from indoor-protected flats and warm padded cells to a nice cozy outdoor bed with a view. Other kinds of vegetables are not suitable to make this transplanting leap and require extra-special care.

Those easy-to –transplant vegetable varieties include:

• broccoli

• Brussels sprouts

• cabbage

• cauliflower

• celeriac

• celery

• Chinese cabbage

• collards

• eggplant

• lettuce

• onion

• parsley

• peppers

• sweet potatoes

• tomatoes

• All of those can be seeded in flats and then later transplanted out bare-rooted.

Then there are those that must be started in individual containers from the start and must then be ultra-carefully transplanted out without disturbing the roots. These delicate damsels include:

• cantaloupe

• melons

• pumpkins and gourds

• summer squash

• winter squash

• watermelons

• zucchini – (can a zucchini ever be considered delicate?)

And some other kinds of vegetables can be started indoors and then transplanted out, but they seldom are because of the impracticality issues. These difficult, impossible ones are:

• beans

• beets

• carrots

• corn

• These are seldom started indoors because of the large numbers of pots needed. Gardeners usually plant hundreds of these kinds of vegetable varieties.

So, get that old seed box out, dust it off, get your seeds all lined up, and get out your calendar because you are going to need a timeframe for starting these seeds. Some should get planted rather soon, while others can wait a month or two. But which ones? This sounds like a perfect topic for next week’s garden spot!

Remember – Eat Smart New York!

And – Bye – Talk to you soon!
D