I Spy…
On Sunday, I was checking the soil and spinach plants in the low tunnel and spotted a ‘Bowles Black’ violet blooming in there. What a wonderful sight it was!
I love having plants like Johnny’s jump ups and violets in my potager because they tell when I can do certain things. When I see them blooming I know that I can start planting and seeding spinach, arugula, cilantro, and other cold tolerant crops and they will germinate. The violets in the rest of the potager are nowhere to be seen, it will be a few weeks before they show their faces. Thanks to this beauty, I know it’s time to transplant some of the lettuce seedlings I have under grow lights into the low tunnel.
Do you have any plants that are signals for you?
Filed under Around the Garden, Cold Frame, Edible, Winter Gardening | Comments (4)
Susy, I’m starting to do as you and watch nature for the correct time to be doing things in the garden. Especially this year I have been carefully noticing when the Robins return, when the Spring flowers start to grow, when the grass starts to grow. All of the above has happened already before the end of February. I think it’s a bit early for this to be happening here but it’s sure signs that Spring has begun and work outside will begin to ramp up. So my lazy self will have to rise to the occasion and be ready to garden. I’ve already been working on garden structure and raised beds but not so much in the soil just yet.
Have a great day planting your cold weather crops.
to Nebraska Dave's comment
Hi Susy,
Is there a more formal name for these types of signs/plantings by signs of the season? It seems like you did a post on this a while back which I thoroughly enjoyed but am not sure where to look for it. The only sign I know is to plant my potatoes when the daffodils bloom.
to Kristen's comment
Yes, there is, it’s called Phenology.
This was one of the posts I wrote about various sayings: /2014/03/15/old-wisdom/
and another one:
/2015/05/08/friday-favorite-phenology/
to Susy's comment
Thank you Susy! I look forward to re-reading these articles (and writing down the keywords so I can find them again. I do love signs of spring. My rhubarb has started to poke up and I find myself checking it frequently!
to Kristen's comment