A Gardener's Diary

[Monksdream]

March 28-The guys were hogging the computers Tuesday evening, so I decided to retire early.

Tuesday was a typical early spring day for Zone 7b. Sun, billowing cumulus clouds, a steady wind, mostly from the south.

After downing two cups of instant coffee I uncovered the roto tiller and tilled the remaining raised bed. The rain Monday loosened the soil. It took maybe 15 minutes to till 360 square feet.

I put in 6 more lettuce plants and sowed some spinach and radish seeds. I noticed some cotyledon leaves appearing in the first row of spinach seed, which tells me the seed I saved from last season is still viable.

After tilling, I headed to the bus stop for the train ride to Lowe's. Fortunately, the rack had packets of purple basil. I will put some in newspaper cups Wednesday in the greenhouse. The temperatures ahead are mostly above seasonal, and enough to cause germination.

One Green Globe artichoke seedling leaned over in the afternoon. It was the first one. I pulled it and dumped the potting soil in a bucket. The remaining plant appears much healthier. The thing about growing artichokes from seed is the success rate is about 30 percent.

I will call Jerry Wednesday to see if he wants some Cherokee Purple tomato plants for his stall at the big farmer's market.