It isnt exactly spring. Neither the calendar nor the weather have conceeded winter yet, but by the ache in my soul, it is indeed spring. It is time for things to be alive and growing. It is time for green things, not just snow and mud.

I am sans-kiddos today, so having a few hours to myself, I decided to spend some time in the greenhouse, with my hands in the dirt. The greenhouse is unheated and subject to winds, so obviously I can’t be planting melons and things of that nature yet. There are plenty of things that dont mind the cold, though, or even prefer it. A few things, in fact, for which the greenhouse is already too warm. Those things are outside, in the snow, to stratify for a time.

In the greenhouse, I planted my brassicas and perennial greens; the things that enjoy a cool start. The slightly more tender things among them, or the things I was unsure of as they are new to me, I planted inside a clear plastic tote box for an extra layer of warmth.

All in all today, I planted:

• Green and purple head cabbage
• Napa cabbage
• Nero di Toscana leaf cabbage
• Giant red mustard
• Red Russian and Thousandhead kale
• Chijimisai
• Celeriac
• Kohlrabi
• Lovage
• Caucasian perennial spinach
• Good King Henry
• Perennial Sweet Lettuce
• Perennial Arugula
• Minutina (Erba Stella)
• Mâche/corn salad
• Salad burnet
• Strigolo
• Claytonia/miner’s lettuce
• Wild prickly lettuce
• Blue vervain
• Heather

From the amount of heat in the greenhouse, it shouldnt be many weeks at all before I can start my peppers and tomatoes and marigolds in the clear totes as well. Yay!